Priorities will define the new Webster City High School

Community wellness center gains support

Part Two

Editors' note: Part 1 of this series addressed the educational environment including safety, comfort and recruitment. This addresses the priorities and the price tag.

Last Monday evening, the High School Facilities Advisory Committee held its third and final meeting. Its mission is to give voice to the larger community's needs in designing facilities to replace today's Webster City High School--WCHS. The session was led by Tyler Riley, Vice President of FEH, architects of Des Moines, hired by the school District to redesign the high school. His message was simple: list the project's priorities, and what you'll give up, for now, if the budget won't cover it.

The budget, determined by district administration and the school board is $43.4 million. That's

a lot of money, but persistent inflation means it will buy less every year the project is delayed.

As well, there are compelling reasons to begin replacing the present facilities as soon as possible, as explained in part one of this series.

Wide Agreement on Priorities for New High School

As committees go, the High School Facilities Advisory Committee is large. Comprised of 19 people, its make-up includes parents, teachers, representatives of city government, Hamilton County Growth Partnership, and citizens supporting community betterment. Despite its size, the entire group is united in prioritizing educational facilities in designing the new high school.

"The whole educational complex needs to be our priority," City Councilman John Marvel said, a sentiment echoed by three-time school board member, former school board president, and former WCHS teacher, Rich Stroner, who said "put it all [the entire budget] in education."

In practice, this means prioritizing new classrooms that meet modern standards and needs, new band and chorus rooms, better building security, and new heating and air-conditioning systems.

Riley, the architect from FEH, told the committee, "we're now in a costing and pricing process with the construction manager" [Kraus-Anderson of Minneapolis]. A preliminary cost estimate of the new high school campus should be known by August 7.

Riley is no stranger to WCHS, having led the design of the competition gym, PE gym, and halls connecting them to Prem Sahai Auditorium, in 2012. Based on his familiarity with today's WCHS, he said "new classrooms, new band and choir rooms, and air-conditioning throughout the new facility are "non-negotiable."

As a design of the new school hasn't yet been proposed, no one knows yet how $43.4 million will be apportioned. Picking up on this, Riley suggested some of today's WCHS could be remodeled rather than replaced. That includes the kitchen, which Riley called, "adequate", putting a new track around the existing football field, in Riley's view, "not a strong option", and industrial tech rooms (shop) "which make sense to remodel." He also suggested remodeling today's administrative offices and library, makes economic sense.

Community Wellness Center is an Enticing Possibility

In early June, School Superintendent Matt Berninghaus and City Manager John Harrenstein visited Clear Lake's Athletics and Wellness Center. Opened in 2022, it was jointly designed and built, and is jointly-operated by the city of Clear Lake and Clear Lake Community School District.

The city and school District have continued discussing the potential to add such a facility to a re-imagined Webster City High School. Where will that fit into the community's priorities, and how will it be paid for, remain open questions.

Tony Striegel, a member of the High School Facilities Advisory Committee, said "it's something to help sell [this project] to the public." City Attorney Zach Chizek, speaking of a new wellness center, said, "people I talk to are excited about a new community recreation center." Long-time advocate for improved sports facilities in Webster City, Andy Hejlik, felt a new, fully-equipped wellness center, "is as high a priority as an improved high school." He later added, "let's figure out a way to do it all."

If such a facility is built, it will increase the staff and workload of the city's Recreation & Public Grounds department.

"The staff, furnishings, programming, and operating expenses are going to be our responsibility. We'll need to sell memberships in the new facility to help pay for it," said Harrenstein. He suggested he could have a solid idea of those costs in time for the September 8 referendum.

Harrenstein also knows approval of the high school project, with or without the proposed wellness center, is ultimately in the hands of voters, saying, simple enough, "the public wants to know what they're buying."

That may be the biggest job for advocates of the project.

The referendum ballot contains two questions. The first will ask voters to approve an additional $0.57 Voter Approved Physical Plant & Equipment Levy (VPPEL) for three years, the estimated construction period for the project.

A second question asks voters if the VPPEL authority (for up to $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation), should be extended for 10 years. This would enable the district to fund ongoing facility, equipment, technology, transportation and other needs.

The best news for tax payers? The District's GO bonds mature in 2028, which will drop the current levy from $2.70 to an estimated $0.64. This would permanently lower property taxes by $2.06 per thousand.

After listening intently for most of the evening, retired District Athletics Director Bob Howard said two things. The first, a bad, but funny pun, saying WCHS was "old school." His second remark was much more fundamental: "This project is really all about attracting more people to Webster City."