of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio
of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio updated/revised 1/3/05, revised 9/17/04, updated 9/14/04, 8/26/04, 8/23/04; new 8/12/04
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| Beyond the church on the right side of this photo, this scene may be vastly changed in a few years. The charming cottages and beyond - and possibly even the church - may be demolished for Chillicothe Public Schools athletic field consolidation. |
The "Old West End" has yet another threat to deal with - in addition to the BP expansion, St. Peter Church insiting on its tenant house demolition, and loss of the Half-Timbered house:
Several sources have informed me that the City of Chillicothe and the Chillicothe School Board have been having secret discussions to acquire several parcels on North High Street through eminent domain for use in the proposed new school facilities.
update 9/14/04: It appears they are getting around the "Sunshine Law" by having individual members of the school board and city council talk to each other, then report to the rest - or at least those who are privy and disinvited. And, it appears that these possible "land grab" plans are for athletic fields and or athletic parking, and not academic buildings.
The parcels being eyed are on the west side of High Street north of the Church of Christ in Christian Union (north of North Street) and south of Kopp Street. This stretch of land is only one lot deep and has mostly small houses that back onto Canal Street (the extension of Yoctangee Parkway). However, there have been hints and fears that the city and schools may be eying properties anywhere from Arch Street north to Wharf Street (where the Camp Sherman pillars are).
What have I heard about this issue?
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| Another view of the threatened homes, from the north. |
If these discussions have been taking place (and I am assured they are), they are flat-out illegal. These are public entities having secret discussions to use public monies to forcibly acquire private property. Aside from breaking the "Sunshine Law," which prohibits public groups from having private meetings, I don't want to consider what other laws they are breaking.
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| Two thriving businesses are in the path of this rumored plan. Aside from taking the homes of many residents, the income of - and tax revenue from - these local businesspeople will be taken. |
Yet again, those with power are treating everybody else like little children who don't have a right to know what is going on... They act like nobility without the legal power - or nobless oblige - to make it even seem legitimate, much less be legitimate.
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| Another view of the businesses and neighborhood, from the "Lost Tribe" clubhouse at Kopp Street. |
Elected leaders should serve the public whose money they earn or handle, whose children the educate, whose services thay provide, whose community they manage - not expect service from those who elected them, or dismiss them as ignorant, meddling fools.
And, those who elect them should demand what is owed by these public servants.
What properties are involved in this?
So how will this look if the city and schools get their way? Assuming that these buildings would give way to athletic fields, here's a possible look:
On Friday, August 20th, a news release was sent out by the city schools. Signed by new superintendant Michael Trego, it is titled "Chillicothe City Schools Building Progress report." (It may have been released in response to my article.)
I am not familliar with previous news releases, but this one reads like a page from a bureaucratic committee's report. Pertinent statement from the news release include: (emphasis added)
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... The Committee has worked to determine the amount of space that is needed and if that space will meet the standards of the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) Guidelines. Chillicothe City Schools is eligible to recieve 20% of the project funding from the state of Ohio in approximately eight years. ... ...preliminary architectural studies and drawings are being developed. The site is being evaluated to determine whether it will support both the new and the renovation construction for the school building. Both the Master Plan adopted by the Board of Education in 2003 and the bond issue included two million dollars for site acquisition. There have been no formal discussions by the Chillicothe Board of Education on this issue. If additional land for school facilities is identified as a need, town meetings to gather input and feedback from the community will be scheduled. The Facility Planning Committee has not discussed land acquisition in their work. ... Initial presentations of the new building plan will be given to the Board of Education and the community-at-large this fall. Preliminary schedules indicate the design phase will be completed by late spring of 2005, and construction will begin the summer of 2005. the project will be completed by the end of 2007. |
I heard the board respond to one of the business people it may be planning to displace by denying that it has made no formal action or plans or discussions about North High Street.
(Of course, that doesn't deny informal action or plans or discussions...)
About eight residents and business people in the area possibly affected attended the meeting. In part because of my article and news release to the media just before the meeting, the Chillicothe Gazette and the Clear Channel radio stations were attuned to this issue.
The Gazette printed a front-page article on it Tuesday ("School board denies land grab rumors"), and the WBEX and WKKJ news had a story with audio.
The preliminary plan to enlarge and add to the Chillicothe High School building was shown at the September 13th city school board meeting. In an aside, the board tried to reassure the "Concerned Citizens of North High Street" that the school system has no plans for their homes and businesses, but only ended up double-talking the issue again.
The Chillicothe City School District Board of Education meeting on September 13th was an informal session, with only a summary notes officially taken.
Most of the small audience was composed of members of "Concerned Citizens of North High Street." There were no media present (unless you count me...).
A citizen's committee and professional consultant sketched out their recommendations on additions and renovations to CHS to make it a combined middle school / high school that would meet the requirements of the Ohio School Facilites Commission (OSFC). This was in a four-page handout available to the media entitled "Chillicothe City Schools Program of Requirements Presented to Chillicothe Board of Education."
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The aerial photo with overlay of proposed CHS renovation / addition plan, as handed out September 13th. (I have added explanatory text to make it more readable.) |
They discussed a chart of facility space required by the OSFC and planned for in the CHS renovations, and a map of proposed additions and renovations to CHS. These were part of "Program of Requirements" (POR) required to meet the OSFC requirements.
The aerial photo shows the CHS school grounds and environs, with an overlay of existing and proposed facilities. This is very similar to the plan proposed to the citizens of Chillicothe during the last election (when the Chillicothe City Schools won its bid for fund to renovate by a margin of two votes).
The main feature is a new wing across "the ravine." The consultant Chuck Tyler of Fanning/Howley Associates explained the basics of the proposal, including how it was slightly different from what had been originally proposed:
After being asked by school board member Wally Burton, the consultant explained that all building space and parking requirements will fit onto the current school property. He asked him to repeat it again for members of the audience, clearly implying the members of the "Concerned Citizens of North High Street". And, new superintendant Michael Trego asked him to repeat it a third time, adding "what do you want me to do, have T-shirts made up with that on it?"
However, this act only insults the intellgence of the Concerned Citizens and heightens the image of the school board as being secretive, sneaky, and suspicious. Though the rumor of the city schools land grab included the possibility of a building or facility parking on the lang-grab site, the main implication was that the land was being grabbed for athletic fields and/or athletic parking - and that is still undenied by the board.
(I had incorrectly reported that school board president Sheryl McCorkle had asked that question three times, and I had missed the T-shirt comment. Apologies to those who made such statements, and thanks to those who corrected me.)
School board president McCorkle also asked the consultant about attendance figures and design capacity. The design is for a smaller school attendance than current, because the school population is shrinking. The board does not want the same problem Unioto had, when they outgrew their new school their first year.
The consultant hesitated a little, and mentioned that the new construction would allow easy expansion.
I missed the explanation of why city schools attendance is declining - is it mostly population migration to the suburbs? And why are they moving - better housing? better environment? or better schools? "Planning for failure is planning to fail," and planning a new building for a shrinking enrollment sounds a lot like that.
After the meeting, I learned a litle more.
Those last two items may be cause for concern. If the school system can get OSFC funding, that frees up local money for less essential projects - such as consolidated athletic fields and parking lots in place of neighborhoods.
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The last canal warehouse at Water and Walnut, the building at125 West Water Street, owned by the Chillicothe City Schools. The short building to its left is a former city trolley shed, and is part of the school facility. (The moisture pattern around the chimney in the brick side wall indicates puddling on the roof.) |
Among items discussed earlier in a superintendant's briefing was the West Water Street maintenance building, a former canal warehouse and enclosed alley at 125 West Water Street. The following comments were part of the discussion:
So who let it get so bad? Why?
Are we going to blame the building, or its keepers? The tennants, or the managers?
The CCSD (Chillicothe City School District) has a web site, which includes a list of the school board members. It also includes the District Mission Statement:
And, the District Vision Statement:
So are they?
More soon...
City Council had a joint meeting with the Chillicothe Board of Education the first Monday of the new year. Council tied up some financial issues, and then discussed the new middle school / high school building design. The meeting bagan at 6:30 pm, and I was a little late, missing the first 5-10 minutes of discussion.
The presenter was Mr. Dean(?) of Fanning/Howley Associates(?), the consultant company developing the plans. He fielded question from city council members, with school board members contributing some additional information. (I noted who some of the questioners were.)
Joe Herlihy gave a rallying epilogue to the meeting, and it was adjourned about 7:30.
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