Thursday, December 09, 1999
High school/rec center will cost $71.9M
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
MASON — A $71.9 million bond issue will be needed to build, equip and furnish a high school and a recreation center for use by residents of the Mason school district.
The joint project, if approved by voters in March, is part of a city/school complex that would be built on 73 acres along Mason-Montgomery Road between Main Street and Mason High School. Eventually, Mason will also build a new city hall on the property.
The Mason Board of Education on Tuesday took the first step to bringing the project to fruition by passing resolutions declaring a need for the money. It asked Warren County Auditor Nick Nelson to certify the property tax millage needed to raise and pay back the dollars over 26 years.
The board is scheduled to take the final vote to put the issue on the ballot at its Dec. 14 meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m. at Mason Heights Elementary School.
The project would include a 355,000-square-foot high school, a 128,000-square-foot recreation center and a 28,000-square-foot natatorium with both competition and leisure pools.
Expandable campus
The high school would initially be built for 2,400 students but designed so that an 800-student wing could be added as enrollment grows. Each of the academic wings would be three stories high, with core facilities — media center, cafeteria, administrators — in a central area.
“It will be what you'd expect in a Mason school building,” said school treasurer Cary Furniss. “It will be constructed to give it a campus effect and tie in with Mason High School, the middle school and intermediate schools (across the street).”
The bond issue also would provide money to expand the football and soccer stadiums at Mason High School; build a ticket, concession and restroom plaza at the high school; buy 15 school buses; install security cameras in the new complex; and upgrade technology and make other improvements at the schools.
Rec center survey
A recent survey asked 2,000 families in the district what kinds of programs and services the recreation center should offer. The results are being compiled, said Scott Lahrmer, Mason city manager.
“We are using that information to move into the next phase of design,” Mr. Lahrmer said. “It gives us a clear direction on what type of recreation our residents want.”
When the high school would open in August 2002, district enrollment is expected to reach nearly 7,500, up almost 23 percent from today's enrollment of about 6,100. The recreation center would open six to 12 months later. Mason's population has increased nearly 75 percent in nine years, from 11,452 in the 1990 census to an estimated 20,000 today.
Mr. Furniss estimated that a 6.78-mill bond issue would be needed for the project. Bonds would be issued over a three- to four-year period as construction progressed. The debt would be structured in a way that when collections began in January 2001, the owner of a house with a market value of $200,000 would pay about $249 annually in new taxes, Mr. Furniss said.
“We want to make sure the (tax) burden is spread out more evenly over time,” Mr. Furniss said. “We're trying to create some equalization so all the burden won't fall on the people who are already here.”
A team of city and school officials is writing a memorandum of understanding that outlines responsibilities on the joint project. It will be voted on Monday by City Council and Tuesday by the school board.
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