The Chilkat Valley Preschool board last week voted to pursue a Willard Street commercial building as the school’s new site.
Also, at January’s Haines Borough Assembly meeting, officials with the privately-operated community school will seek a six-month extension to a June 30 deadline for moving out of the borough’s Human Resources Building, said preschool administrator Renee Hoffman.
The preschool plans to acquire two lots and about two-thirds of a building owned by Sue Folletti, including a space previously occupied by Lynn Canal Counseling Services.
The school would get 2,700 square feet of space, centrally located, including room for a fenced play area, and a 600-foot office to rent, said Hoffman. About $275,000 is expected to pay for the space, remodeling, new furnishings, a new boiler, and construction of an L-shaped playground. The move will require moving a property line.
“We want this to happen. Unless there’s a major roadblock, this is the chosen direction to go,” Hoffman said. “I can’t see anything that’s going to come up to keep this from happening.”
Hoffman said the decision represented a middle course between acquiring the aging building the school now occupies, and new construction, estimated to cost $440,000 for an 1,800-square-foot space. The board examined three options, including for cost, project timeline and sustainability, she said.
The school has raised $61,000 and needs to raise at least $80,000 more to qualify for matching grants through foundations, Hoffman said. “Easily we would be two years out to build new, which the borough probably would not have been happy with,” she said.
Board member Kat Cheney, who had supported acquiring the Human Resources Building, said her family has concerns about the downtown site. Although it’s convenient to facilities like the library, swimming pool and Tlingit Park, it’s also very close to traffic compared to the current location on First Avenue North.
“We’re sticking our children on one of the busiest streets in town,” Cheney said.
Cheney said the board was looking to get into a more modern building, although she thought the Human Resources Building may have been more sustainable. In the Willard Street location, the school will have to collect rents on office space, she said.
The board had previously pursued a modular building on Presbyterian Church property and also considered building a new, frame structure on borough-owned property near the Haines School.
The 107-year-old Human Resources Building – which has previously served as a school and health clinic – needs extensive repair, including to its roof, floors, windows and plumbing.
Borough officials have expressed interest in disposing of the building and its property.