Committee looks to community for support

PARADISE – Last weekend a team of consultants made a preliminary report to the Paradise Elementary School Preservation Committee on repurposing the school site for a community, arts and visitor’s center.

On Saturday, April 11, Steve Adler, an architect who specializes in historic projects and Philip Maechling, who served for more than a decade as Missoula’s Historic Preservation Officer, were on hand to go over their preliminary findings and to issue some recommendations with the preservation committee.

Adler and Maechling used a presentation to cover several potential designs, which were developed by the community and architecture students from Montana State University at a charrette at the school on Saturday, Feb. 28.  

In total Adler and Maechling presented four concepts, developed through work at the charrette, on how to utilize the space available at the site of the elementary school.

“The premise the students took was the designs are really going to hinge on how you move around the site and between and through the buildings,” Adler said.

During the presentation community members were provided with a questionnaire the MSU architecture students will utilize as they complete their recommendations for the school’s preservation committee.

Maechling emphasized ideas from those in attendance and other members of the community would be integral as the project moves towards the completion of the feasibility study.

“Whatever gets done in the future will be based on the recommendations you put forward,” Maechling said

Before the public meeting adjourned for the afternoon, members of the school’s preservation committee took some time to speak about the need to increase support for the project among the local community, specifically the residents of Paradise.

County Commissioner Carol Brooker noted portions of the Paradise community believed the school should stay as is and continue in its current state as a site for public usage for a nominal fee.

Brooker invited Karval Pickering, chair of the Paradise School Board, to explain the situation faced by the school board.

Pickering stated the Paradise school board would have until June 30, 2016 to do something with the school, or its ownership will be transferred to the Plains School District.   

Until that date, the Paradise school board will continue to maintain the building.

Pickering added the school board has received no offers on the future use of the school site except from the preservation committee.

“There have been no offers other than this,” Pickering said.

She also noted the school board was excited with what the committee has accomplished so far.

“Our school board is excited about the energy and the efficiency with which this has been addressed,” Pickering said.

Brooker explained if this transfer were to occur the decision process regarding the school would then be entirely out of Paradise’s hands.

“People in Paradise will no longer have the school if some sort of non-profit or business does not take over the space. It will be entirely up to the Plains School District,” Brooker said.

Alternatively, if a non-profit came in to utilize the site, the property would transfer to the county’s ownership and the county would then lease it out for future use.

“But the county is not going to take this building if we don’t have a viable non-profit organization to turn it over to,” Brooker said.

She added the support of the town of Paradise would be key.

“Personally I would like to have more support from the citizens of Paradise moving forward,” Brooker said.  

The MSU architect students will complete their design work at the end of this month and they will present their proposals at a meeting on Thursday, May 7.

Maechling added the consultants will analyze these proposals and complete their recommendations for the project.

“Our task will be to take their proposals, analyze them, look at the program and then come back with an ultimate suggestion,” Maechling said.

Maechling stated they would then provide the preservation committee with suggestions of what can be done immediately to move forward with the repurposing project.

The feasibility study will be finalized in June.