[Vision2020] Old buildings

[Joan Opyr]

On Mar 30, 2006, at 9:15 AM, Chasuk wrote:

> So are we being asked to fund new construction out of honest
> necessity, or just because our present facilities have gotten "old?"
>

Hi Chasuk:

I think we're being asked to fund new facilities because Russell is not 
ADA-compliant; the wiring is shot; and there is no playground -- unless 
you count that knee-skinning asphalt jungle out front.  Inadequate 
sports facilities at Russell and the high school are doing little to 
help our increasingly obese American offspring fight off the middle-age 
spread that now appears when our kids turn 14.  The science labs at the 
high school are a joke; we could do with a real music room and a 
cafeteria that seats at least half of the students rather than just 90; 
and, as Keely points out, it's not a matter of wanting to raze old 
buildings, willy nilly.   The problem is that Russell and the high 
school both have such small foundation footprints that remodeling them 
is cost prohibitive.  I am, as I have said, all for saving the 
buildings and re-using them . . . but not as schools.  I don't think 
they're salvageable as schools.  Others (respectfully) disagree, and 
I'm willing to entertain arguments about why we should sink a fortune 
into remodeling Russell and West Park when it would be demonstrably 
cheaper to build a new facility at the Joseph Street site.  I am also, 
as I have said before, in favor of the high school at its current 
location, but I don't see how that can be accomplished without 
resorting to the appalling practice of exerting eminent domain.

I hate eminent domain!  In the case of the high school, it means 
kicking out people in affordable rentals so that richer folk can have 
their way with lovely architecture -- and, in the end, we'd still have 
an inadequate high school facility with zip in the way of parking.  
(Yes, I think more people should walk or ride bicycles, but I don't 
think its reasonable to plan a high school on the expectation that my 
daughter and other country kids will trek in 8-plus miles on their 
Schwinns.  I expect that my daughter will drive to school, just as I 
did in public transportation-rich Raleigh, NC.  I could have caught the 
bus, but I worked at Godfather's Pizza in the evenings, and I wasn't 
cowgirl enough back then to go to bed at midnight and get up at 6 AM.  
Hell, I'm still not!)

BTW, I love old houses, and I'm very jealous that you had the privilege 
of occupying a 16th century abode.  I love old buildings, and I am 
strongly in favor of preserving our architectural heritage.  That's one 
of the reasons I shop in Moscow's downtown.  I want to see the Main 
Street retail that is currently housed in historic downtown buildings 
continue to survive and to thrive.  But what works for a bookstore or a 
tattoo parlor doesn't necessarily work for kids -- kids who need 
schools that are wired for the computer age, not the jazz age.  I think 
I've mentioned before that if I ever win Powerball, I intend to buy the 
old David's building (currently The Beach) and restore it to its former 
glory.  Then, I think I'll rent space in the New David's to Planned 
Parenthood, and a branch office of NOW, and perhaps a first floor gay 
bar . . . something with a really tasteful name like "Dykes Delight" or 
"The Man Hole."  I want to be sure to get my fair share of those $2 
million NSA student dollars!

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com

PS: I warned you all when Area Man brought this up that the facilities 
issue was a deep pile of doo-doo.  And here we are, dancing in it and 
waving our stinky feet in one another's faces.  One of the reasons we 
can't pass a levy is because we can't discuss this issue without losing 
our tempers.  God knows this is a hot button issue for me . . . but 
you've probably already noticed that.