Summit County Citizens Voice

A proposed new private school in Summit County may find a temporary home in Breckenridge.

Facility deemed ‘ideal’ for short-term plans

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Plans for a new private school in Summit County could become a reality as soon as the start of the 2012 school year, with temporary classroom space in the old high school and CMC building at 103 South Harris Street in Breckenridge.

A group of citizens is requesting to lease space in the building for the proposed Peak School, to house about 30 students during the initial year of operations.

The citizens said the building, which once served as a high school, could be ideal for their short-term needs.

Here’s the memo from the group to the town with the lease request:

To: Breckenridge Town Council

From: The Peak School

Date: October 25, 2011 – Town Council Worksession

Re: Harris St. Building – Lease

INTERESTED PARTIES

Chris & Shannon Renner, Rebekah Simon, Ryan & Kelly Sanders, Ken & Margaret Bell,
Todd & Megan Morgan, Russell & Lisa Whitt, Bobby & Carol Craig, Adam & Minda Garman

SUMMARY
The Peak School, an independent, private school, seeks to lease vacant space on the third floor of the old Harris Street Building for the period of one school year beginning in 2012. This building was designed and utilized as a school, the space is ideal for an immediate short-term location. We are simply asking to use it for its intended original purpose for one school year – no more.

REQUESTED OUTCOME
We request permission to discuss terms and details of a lease with Tom Daugherty.

RELEVANT DISCUSSION POINTS
FINANCIAL – ZERO additional cost to the Town (no improvements, no repairs requested) -    Provides as much as $50,000 in additional Town revenue for sharing a vacant building (about 50% of the Speakeasy’s requested digital projection upgrades)

TERM OF LEASE – Short-term Interim only, one school year, current market rate (same as dance studio)

PARENTAL CONCERNS – Signed agreement from every parent acknowledging the expiration of our lease

DISTRICT CONCERNS – We’ve met with all district administrators -    30 students represents about 1% of the district population

BUILDING LOGISTICS – Requested third floor space is directly above existing leased space (east end) and is heated by common boiler. The entire west end of building can be accessed by the Town if desired during occupancy – Current tenants have been briefed and are supportive of our request

BUILDING CODE LOGISTICS – Inspected by Glen Morgan (see report), the historic building is deemed habitable, with wide halls and dual stairwells. Glen’s only request is that the tenant installs early notification and provides a fire safety plan – Inspected by Jay Nelson of Red White and Blue Fire District (report forthcoming).

OTHER BUILDING OPTIONS – The Old Harris Street Building ranks #1 in desirability among six other countywide building locations (size, location, cost, needed improvements, habitability) – Other long-term building and land opportunities have been identified.

In a memo to the town council, public works director Tom Daugherty said town officials identified the top floor in the front of the building as a suitable space that wouldn’t conflict with existing uses in the building. The space totals about 3,200 square feet, and fire officials said installing a sprinkler system for the area could cost about $30,000.

Other remodeling costs could run about $12,000 and additional utility costs could add up to about $7,000 to $8,000 per year, along with $5,000 for classroom security, according to the memo.

Text of the memo

TO: Town Council

FROM:  Tom Daugherty, Public Works Director

DATE: October 20, 2011

RE:Private School at Old High School

Memorandum
As was discussed at the previous Council meeting, a group of people, headed by Chris Renner, are looking to start a private school. They have approached the Town to temporarily use a portion of the old High School at 103 South Harris for approximately a year while they find a permanent location for the school. The space that staff has identified is the top floor of the front of the building which is approximately 3,200 square feet. This space would be the most appropriate because there would not be interference with the existing tenants.

Staff has looked at the building to determine what work is needed to make the building usable for the requested purpose. The Fire Department and the Chief Building official visited the building. The building and fire codes are not mandatory in a historic building if the building official judges that the use does not constitute a distinct life and/or property safety hazard and an approved fire protection plan are enacted. The code would require a sprinkler system otherwise The School Group would have to hire someone to put together a fire protection plan that the Town and Fire Department would review for approval. The details and costs of that plan are not known at this time. A fire sprinkler system for this space is estimated at $30,000 and would need to be reconfigured when the Town remodels the space.

The identified space meets the schools needs and they would not change the wall configuration. They would be interested in painting and new carpet or flooring in the hallway. The bathrooms would require new fixtures and a slight remodel to meet ADA requirements. The electrical, mechanical and plumbing are sufficient for the purpose of the school. These remodel costs are estimated to be around $12,000.

Town staff believes that the use of the building would be an additional $7,000 and $8,000 per year in costs like utilities, snow removal, trash removal, fire alarm inspections etc… We also estimate that securing the class rooms would cost approximately $5,000 to secure the floor where they would be located. There would likely be an increase in staff time to address things that typically arise from being a landlord.

The 2012 budget has a programming study to look at the Speakeasy and Town’s use of the space when it becomes the Town Hall. This study can be done while the space is being occupied since we already have most of the information needed for the study. There could be occasions that we need to enter the space while the renters are there to inspect the building condition.

More info online at the Breckenridge Town Council website.

Filed under: Colorado, Summit County news Tagged: | Breckenridge, Breckenridge town council, education, Summit County News, Summit County Peak School, Summit County private school