What would Iola schools do with an activity center that featured artificial turf inside a 4,000 square foot building?
Perhaps it could be an indoor playground, or give area sports teams or the high school marching band a place to practice during inclement weather.
USD 257 school board members and administrators will consider that question as maintenance director Aaron Cole seeks bids to renovate a former storage building near Iola Elementary School.
The district voted in August to buy the property on East Monroe for $35,000 from the Willard Horde trust.
Superintendent Stacey Fager said the district considered purchasing the property a few years ago when it bought the land across the street where the elementary school now sits. At the time, they didn’t have a use in mind.
When the property became available this fall, it seemed like a good idea to buy it, Fager said.
The property includes a 40 by 100 foot metal building on less than an acre of land.
Now, they’re working on a plan for the property. It makes sense to develop the area as some kind of indoor recreational facility.
“At this time of year, finding places to practice, especially during adverse weather conditions, is extremely tough,” Fager said.
For example, the Iola High School softball team has only been able to practice outdoors three times in the past couple of weeks because of rain, and two of those times they had to play in a parking lot.
All of the schools have — or will have — new gym floors. The high school refinished its gym last year; the middle school gym will be redone this summer.
“Our gym floors see a lot of usage this time of year with indoor practices. Having a facility like this would be so beneficial for that to keep usage off our floors and make them last a lot longer,” Fager said.
“It wouldn’t just be for athletics. We could see all kinds of activities utilized, even school functions during the day or maybe elementary physical education class. Maybe we could open it to the community for events as well.”
Board member Dan Willis said he thought the facility could also be useful for SAFE BASE, the after-school program. He was disappointed to see SAFE BASE activities in the gym displaced by basketball practices.
COLE sought preliminary cost estimates to turn the building into something the district can use.
It will need metal on the outside, including the roof, as well as a ceiling inside. A heating unit will be needed, but Cole doesn’t plan to add air conditioning. Overhead doors on the north and south sides could allow for a breeze to flow through the building on warmer days.
