RC School Board to work with city on future projects
In a joint planning session between the Rogers City Area School Board and the Rogers City Council, plans were laid for future working conditions between the two entities. ?The chemistry is right to get some things done in this community,? said school board president Scott McLennan. ?This is also combined with (today?s) problems such as loss of jobs including families and students, tax base and other problems.?
McLennan said it was time to move forward to help this area and complimented the council for its achievements over that past few years, mentioning the boat harbor, the band shell, trail expansion, the airport and the new US-23 project which is about to begin.
?We want to do things to get people to move here,? McLennan said. ?We need to work together and share information to let each other know where we?re at and what we?re doing.?
The joint planning session was attended by members of both board of education and the city council with both presenting information on future ideas or ?wish lists? for projects or ideas.
MAYOR BEACH HALL, representing the city council, spoke about city concerns including an EDA grant for sewer and water to the other side of the airport to include Airport Road. Expansion of Industrial Park Drive with seven industrial and four commercial Ren Zone properties will start this summer, along with airport improvements hoping to attract service and planes to the area. ?The trail expansion contract has been bid,? Hall said ?It should be a very busy summer with more activity.?
Hall said the city was aware of the shrinking enrollment problem in the schools, and said that with more businesses starting up it could help the enrollment problem. ?The city works with Mary Ann Heidemann to advertise the Industrial Park and to try and get some jobs and new residents to this area,? Hall said. McLennan said, ?We should all celebrate all we have accomplished…but it is time to move forward and discover areas that may overlap and could be worked on together.?
MCLENNAN TOLD those present the school board had been working on the areas such as the arts, Gilpin Field, possible relocation of the football field to the main campus, and Little League relocation to Gilpin. Also mentioned were the future of the Grambau Center, a media center, and adult and vocational education.
?We?re looking at just talking about these plans right now,? McLennan said. Council member Deb Greene wanted to know, ?How long do we just keep talking about all this? Do we get a plan? When will something actually be done about it?? ?We intend to have a professional community planner giv
Other ideas that emerged from the session included a combined community center that might include a pool, exercise equipment, auditorium, and meeting rooms. Both groups agreed to more meetings sometime in the future and to keep each other?s goals in mind when it came to planning projects to see where they might both benefit the community with joint efforts. Both groups agreed that jobs were the most important aspect of any projects being planned with the quality of life in the area being preserved.
?Let?s be pro-active not re-active as a community,? McLennan said. ?It?s important to have a shared vision and to put the city in the best possible light and retain the quality of life.? .
