LIHTC, Gaunt Park raise questions
- Published: October 23, 2024
The school district and Village government continue to work together to flesh out the details and possibilities of a proposed 50-unit low-income housing development — referred to locally as the “LIHTC” project — near the Yellow Springs High and McKinney Middle schools on East Enon Road on a portion of land known locally as Morgan Fields.
Though steps have been taken to ease the path for the proposed development — including a first reading from Village Council for an ordinance that would rezone the land where the development would be sited and the approval of legal and appraisal fees for the land and its encumbrances by the Village — the district and Village still face a number of hurdles.
For the school district, chief among those hurdles is the question of how the 3.6 acres of Morgan Fields sited for the development — currently owned by the school district, and which play host to a number of community- and school-related activities, including the village’s recreational soccer program — will be replaced.
The school board has affirmed in the past that, in order for the proposed development to move ahead, suitable replacement land would have to be identified and secured for the use of the programs that currently use the East Enon Road land.
As reported in the Oct. 13 issue of the News, stakeholders from both entities have been in conversation with local landowners Rick Donahoe and Julie Jones about the possibility of purchasing some of their land, which is contiguous with the middle and high schools, to potentially replace the fields. Decisions from landowners about those land parcels are due by the end of October.
An Oct. 7 meeting of Village Council also revealed a new potential site for relocating the community groups that use Morgan Fields: the Village-owned Gaunt Park.
It was Gaunt Park that was the leading topic of discussion at the school board’s regular meeting Wednesday, Oct. 9.
School board Vice President Rebecca Potter, who is part of the intergovernmental task force of school district and Village representatives working on the proposed development, spoke about the task force’s burgeoning discussion of the potential use of eight acres of Gaunt Park as a replacement site.
“This, of course, is complex,” she said. “It requires a lot of collaboration; it has challenges and potential benefits, and [the task force has been] generating mostly questions, but also worked out next steps on how to investigate this very preliminary idea.”
In keeping with the idea of investigation, school board member Dorothée Bouquet had a number of questions about how Gaunt Park might — or might not — be a suitable replacement site. Those questions included:
• Will community groups who currently use Morgan Fields for recreational sports have access to locker rooms and restrooms at Gaunt Park?
• How will additional sports uses like soccer affect the demand for the use of Gaunt Park, which is already used by both community and school sports groups?
• Who will carry the financial burden of developing, improving and maintaining Gaunt Park for sports uses beyond what it currently supports?
“If [Gaunt Park] is a community park, how do we make sure that we have access to those spaces?” Bouquet asked.
School board President Judith Hempfling pointed to the fact that the district and the wider community have shared Gaunt Park for some time, because the park hosts the schools’ baseball and softball programs.
“It’s worked fine for 75 years, as far as I know,” she said. “I’m sure there are things that have to be worked out, but we are already sharing it.”
Superintendent Terri Holden noted, however, that Gaunt Park is “not designed as a high school baseball and softball field.”
“We are grateful for the Village — specifically Johnnie Burns and his team working with us for Gaunt Park,” Holden said. “We will continue to use [the fields at Gaunt Park] because we have nothing else, but they are inadequate. That inadequacy has nothing to do with the maintenance by the Village.”
School board members made it clear that, if Gaunt Park were to be considered as a suitable replacement site for Morgan Fields, it would continue to be municipally owned — the school district would not buy the park.
“To suggest that the schools would buy Gaunt Park is not something that’s been discussed,” board member Amy Magnus said.
“Or will be discussed,” Hempfling added.
Board member Amy Bailey, however, expressed concern that any replacement site not owned by the school district — which would need to sell a 3.6-acre portion of Morgan Fields to the Village in order for the proposed development to move ahead — could create complications for the school district down the road. She also pointed out that, though the parcel of Morgan Fields eyed for sale is mostly used by community groups, the boys soccer team uses the entirety of the fields for an annual tournament.
“If we’re selling land and we’re not buying land, how are we making ourselves whole?” Bailey asked.
“I think you and all board members will be part of the answer to that,” Potter responded, referring to the fact that the school board will ultimately approve or reject the sale of the 3.6 acres. “We had a motion that says we secure land for similar use — so what is that going to mean, and how is that going to be solidified in any kind of cooperative agreement?”
Potter went on to say that the intergovernmental task force will work to find “researched answers” to the questions posed by the board, including what “other models look like” between other schools and municipal groups.
“We have to get something that works — I think everyone that was part of this conversation is completely aware of that,” Potter said. “[I] hope for the goodwill of the community to understand that there is absolute commitment to keep a win-win solution as the goal.”
In other school district news:
• The school board unanimously approved a resolution “Condemning Harassment and Violence Against the Springfield, Ohio Haitian Community and Expressing Support for Positive and Proactive Leadership.”
The resolution states, in part, that “since false and inflammatory remarks were directed against Springfield, Ohio’s Haitian community on the national level, hate speech and racist activities against this community have increased dramatically” and that the board “actively supports local efforts to meaningfully engage with the Haitian community members of Springfield, Ohio and will be involved in collaborative initiatives to provide assistance, resources, encouragement and fellowship to our neighbors and friends. … The Board hereby condemns all forms of anti-immigrant and racist expression and implores all to endeavor to truly ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
• The Mills Lawn PTO reported that the annual Bulldog Jog event — a 5K race and “fun run” typically scheduled for November — will not be held this year. The event’s accompanying T-shirt fundraiser, however — which features designs from local students — will continue. The shirts will be given to all Mills Lawn students this year, for a suggested donation, and the PTO will request sponsorships from local businesses to help fund their creation.
Looking ahead, the PTO will hold the Mills Lawn Skate Night on Thursday, Nov. 14, at Orbit Skate Center in Huber Heights; and the annual community Winterfest event will return Saturday, Dec. 14, at Mills Lawn.
• In an update on the district’s ongoing facilities improvement project, slated to break ground in January, the board unanimously approved a resolution acknowledging that the board members had received and reviewed the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, or OFCC’s, comments on the project’s design development.
The OFCC provides oversight and guidance for state-funded school facilities construction projects; the Yellow Springs project will be funded in part by rebates from the state.
Superintendent Holden said she, Director of Operations Jeff Eyrich and the project’s architect and construction manager have also reviewed the OFCC’s comments on the planned design.
“None of [the OFCC’s comments] were a surprise to us,” Holden said, adding that the project’s timeline is still on track.
For ongoing information on the facilities improvement project’s timeline, go to ysschools.org/construction.
• Holden gave an update on the newly founded Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, which features students from fifth through 12th grades. The students meet monthly with the superintendent to give feedback and ideas on the school district’s programs and initiatives.
There are currently 19 students on the council, Holden said, and the group has met with her twice so far this school year.
“There were some interesting, neat interactions and mentoring between younger students and the high school students,” she added.
Holden has also formed a Parent Advisory Council, which currently has 12 members.
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