UNIVERSITY BUYS WASHINGTON SCHOOL FOR STORAGE FACILITY USE

Washington Elementary School has been sold to Southeast Missouri State University for use as a storage facility. The sale was announced Thursday afternoon by the Cape Girardeau Public Schools. The university paid the schools $30,000 for the building and also will provide the schools with a 10-year commitment for use of Houck Stadium, the first five years for free.

The school currently is occupied by students who expected to be attending the new Blanchard Elementary School this fall but have been stymied by construction delays at Blanchard. The construction foreman told Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska Thursday that the new school could be completed as early as mid-November. Steska said the students and teachers will move in immediately afterward.

The university plans to move building maintenance operations into the school. Those operations currently are housed at 122 S. Ellis St., a facility eventually to be occupied by the SEMO Regional Crime Lab. Some vehicles will be stored overnight at the Washington School site. "They will be vehicles we use on a day-to-day basis," said Dr. Ken Dobbins, president of Southeast Missouri State University. "... We don't want the community to think we're going to have a junk yard there."He said some university grant programs and community programs also could be located in the building. Dr. Pauline Fox, vice president for administration and enrollment management, and Facilities Management Director Al Stoverink are developing a plan for the building's use, Dobbins said.

He noted that the school has good proximity to other buildings owned by the university, especially the new facilites management and bus storage building at Washington and Sprigg streets. "We have all the facilities management folks in one place," he said.

The Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents approved the purchase in a closed session Monday. The contract calls for the university to take possession of the building Dec. 31 or at a mutually agreeable time. A "retirement" ceremony for the building is scheduled for Nov. 27 for anyone with a connection to the school. Tours will begin at noon, followed by a flag-lowering ceremony at 3 p.m. and a meal. A program will be held at 6 p.m.

The Cape Girardeau schools currently pay the university $1,000 per event for use of Houck Stadium. Under the new contract, the schools will be able to hold six events per year at the stadium over the next five years for free. During the following five years, the schools will pay the university $2,000 per event for six events."Even though it's $2,000 per event it does give the university as well as the schools the opportunity to count on usage of the facility," Steska said. "And if the facility is renovated (as planned) that would be a plus to us."Southeast made the only bid on the building. Both Steska and Dobbins attributed the modest $30,000 price tag to the liability the university is accepting for maintaining the building and asbestos abatement should it eventually be torn down. The cost of removing the asbestos in the building has been estimated at $175,000.