Village and School board discuss the future of Sangamon, air conditioning in schools and Village growth

The Mahomet-Seymour School Board hosted the Village Board of Trustees in a joint meeting to discuss the future of Mahomet. Members of both boards weighed in heavily on educating students in the current Sangamon Elementary building and the potential of moving first and second grade students into an addition off Middletown Prairie Elementary.

Sangamon Elementary and Air Conditioning in schools

Superintendent Rick Johnston reviewed the district’s ten year plan with the Village Board of Trustees Tuesday night.

Phase I of the plan was completed with the addition of Middletown Prairie and Middletown Park. As the board looks into Phase II of the project, the Mahomet-Seymour School Board listened to a presentation, which highlighted the benefit of rezoning the 3.6 acre Sangamon property from high density residential use to commercial property.

Commercial appraiser Steve Whitsatt said the current propery is valued around $500,000, but by rezoning it into a commercial property, that value could be raised to as high as $1.5 million.

A land-locked school in a growing community, many board members agreed that students will be better served in a new facility, which is projected to be an addition to the current Middletown building as early as 2018.

Johnston told board members Tuesday night that the value of the current Sangamon property is key when making the financial projections for a new facility. By taking advantage of the best financing options available, using money from different sources available to the district and getting maximum value from the Sangamon property, which could be repurposed by a business, Johnston believes he can maintain the current tax level as the district continues to grow.

It is projected that a new facility will cost the district $16.5 million.

When Village Trustee Vicki Cook talked about some concern over Sangamon from her constituents, other board members spoke up in favor of moving students to a new facility.

Johnston said that “Mark Cabutti does a great job of camouflaging that building.” He cited that students have to cross the street to use a green area for P.E., that semis park 15 feet away from the building, that the parent pick-up line is situated dangerously and that the heat during the summer months can become too much for an educational environment.

Unlike the old Middletown building, Johnson believes the front structure at Sangamon will remain standing, and could be used as business space.

Phase II also includes plans to revamp the auditorium at Mahomet-Seymour High School, to expand the Media Center/Library at MSHS and to make sure all classrooms in the district have air conditioning.

While the public discussion of the Sangamon property continues throughout 2016, the district will tackle other projects on hand.

Johnston said Phase III of the plan is the move MSJHS to the property where Middletown Prairie is located by 2025. Until then, they have to maintain the building. MSJHS received new bleachers and lockers a few years ago. And now three-fourths of the building are air conditioned with a ductless split.

At $45,000, the district plans to continue to run the ductless split air conditioning throughout the building by the 2016-2017 school year.

Also slated are upgrades to Lincoln Trail. Adding air conditioning and replacing the HVAC system there will cost the district $2.1 million.

Citing the MSHS auditorium as “than the attractive” and “not what our constituents would expect, Johnston also said the district plans to upgrade the sound system, add technology and add 450 permanent seats to the space. With this, the auditorium can also provide for additional classrooms in a high school that is at capacity (965) right now. The auditorium is projected to cost $1.2 million.

An added bonus for students will come with a new media center. Johnston plans to expand the current library into a new media center by moving the lockers that are in the commons area throughout the building. The new media center will boast a comfortable “lounge area”, power stations for phones and a meeting room equipped with voice-recognition cameras and microphones so that the district has the potential to offer AP courses to other schools in the Central Illinois area.

These facilities will house a growing population, which comes to this area for “high-end academics” and “high-end extracurriculars” Johnston said.

Village Growth

Acting Village President Sean Widener said the Village realizes this community is growing quickly because of what the school system has to offer.

The Village is currently dealing with three subdivisions, Thornewood, Country Ridge and Prairie Crossing that produce between 1 to 2 houses every month. Widener said there are other subdivisions ready to run with their building permits.

Widener said the Village does not have to do anything to attract residential growth because people come for the schools. But, with an incorporated population of 7,995 and a district-wide population of nearly 15,000, the Village faces hard economic times if commercial or industrial businesses do not come to town.

“We cannot survive on residential growth alone,” Widener said. “We have to look to diversify our zoning district, either industrial or commercial.”

Prompted by tough questions from the school board, Widener and Village Administrator Patrick Brown said the Village has put in infrastructure to attract businesses to the area.

Focused on development on IL-150 east of Prairieview, the Village spent all the TIF money to attract businesses to build there. Although there have been talks in years past, nothing has come through.

Brown said it is difficult for large businesses to commit to Mahomet, being only 10 miles west of Champaign where the market is just as accessible. Board members pushed for the Village to offer incentives to businesses to come to Mahomet, but with the price of commercial land  has deterred them in years past.

The Village wants to continue to get the message out that Mahomet is actually 15,000 people, hoping it might attract a big box store, some restaurants or a research park to invest in the community.

Fiber Update

The Mahomet-Seymour School District and the Village of Mahomet recently signed a lease agreement with CIRBN, allowing the non-profit organization to manage and provide service through fiber optic cables that feed service to the Village, schools, the library and Farm Credit Services.

Johnston said officials met with Metro Communications, a privately owned business, which ran fiber optics through the Village, to talk about redundancy options, connecting the two existing lines, which end at Sangamon Elementary and Bulldog Drive.

Metro Communication quoted the group $200 per month for two lines and a $1000 connection fee.

The Village and school officials have talked to businesses about connecting to the fiber optic lines for two years. Johnston said businesses will see increased reliability, a faster connection and a savings over time, but Brown mentioned that many businesses in Mahomet are having a hard time being convinced as many do not need the increased bandwidth and the cost associated with running a line from a hand hole to a business is substantial.

Brown said the sell may be harder for existing Mahomet businesses, but businesses that locate in Mahomet in the future may be interested.

Both boards agreed that continued communication and a shared vision will help the Mahomet community.