Demolition for Spring Glen School?

By Richard Shaw

A committee of people from the Spring Glen area met with the Carbon County School board Tuesday evening and told the board that the old Spring Glen School is probably beyond repair and may need to be torn down.
“A strong wind has damaged the roof of the building,” said Mark Morley, who was the spokesman for the group. “Estimates are that it would cost about $80,000 to repair it.”
The school which has been used for various things since Sally Mauro School opened many years ago has, in the last few years, been used as a community center for the Spring Glen area. It is adjacent to Spring Glen Park.
The building was built in 1927 and was an elementary school until the 1970s when students started attending school in Helper. Not long after that it became the Ann Self School. When Castle Valley Center was built in the 1980s those students moved there. Later it was rented to a local church which used it for services and a private school.
The group recommended that the building be removed and then that ground could become part of the park.
“What we are interested in is a partnership with the school district,” said Morley. “The building needs to be removed. We would like to expand the park into that area and have the school district own and maintain it.”
Could be soccer field
The group also showed the board some plans for a possible soccer field that could be built in that area.
“When the building is removed there would not be any bathroom facilities either,” said Barney. “We would like to use the brick from the present building and the architectural style of the present structure to build some new restrooms. We have already cleared the moving of the water and sewer with PRWID.
Morley said that they already have commitments for donation of labor to move those utilities over to where the restrooms would be located.
After the board had heard the presentation they talked about the situation. Tearing down the building would cost about $100,000, according to estimates and the board had concerns about whether the commitment to partnership on a park with any community would be within what the mission of the school district is.
Board Member Melanie Fausett said that she understood that County Commissioner Casey Hopes has a grant written up for a soccer field at the Carbon County Fairgrounds. She suggested that the group talk with the county about that possible soccer field being put in Spring Glen instead.
“We do have a letter from the county from many years ago that they could take over the land,” stated Morley. “We wouldn’t have a preference whether it be the school district or the county.”
Carbon District Business Manager Darin Lancaster pointed out that the district had delayed taking down the building many years ago so the community could use it.
Board President Wayne Woodward said that since the item was not an action item on the agenda the board could make no move on the request.
“Actually we are all still in the information gathering mode,” he said. “We would certainly like to preserve that building, but it appears the costs may prevent that.”
When the board may consider an action on the situation was not clear. Later in the meeting they decided not to hold a July board meeting next month because of lack of agenda items. The next scheduled meeting is on Aug. 12.