NR-S signs land-lease agreement for second gym

During a special meeting on Monday, March 18, the New Rockford-Sheyenne School Board officially approved a land-lease agreement for construction of a second gymnasium.

The lessee is the New Rockford-Sheyenne School District Foundation, a nonprofit corporation charged with making the district’s long-anticipated second gymnasium a reality.

Once the foundation signs the lease, which they are expected to do at their next meeting, they will have control of the property on which the gym will be built, and will fund, construct, operate and maintain the second gymnasium.

“Foundation is to construct a gymnasium on the Premises consistent with the [construction plans],” stipulates the lease agreement. “The School District shall not pay any monies for the construction of the gymnasium. All funds being used will come from the Foundation.”

NR-S Business Manager Dave Skogen said agreeing to a lease with the foundation allows the project to progress faster, with different timelines and channels to go through than a project of similar size being done directly by a school district.

“And since it’s community donated funds to the community foundation, it just provides a better working relationship between the funds that are coming in – a nice clear division that these are not taxpayer dollars going to the building,” he added.

As for the gym’s construction, the plan is to move forward with using PVC fabric, a construction material that’s becoming increasingly popular and that reduces the project’s overall cost considerably.

When the expectation was still a “brick-and-mortar” structure, the estimated price tag had ballooned to over $4 million. Now, that price tag is expected to be half of what it was, or potentially even less.

With the new plan, the gym would have a steel-frame skeleton clad in large PVC fabric panels, and its location would remain just off the school’s CTE wing to the south.

The new gym will include a changing area/locker room structure inside the gym, as well as restrooms, office space, a weight room and spectator seating.

However, before any construction plans become reality, the foundation must first complete their fundraising efforts.

The terms of the lease stipulate that no construction of the gymnasium can begin until the foundation raises all funds necessary to complete the project – a late addition to the lease agreement after the school board expressed concern that construction could come too soon, and leave the district in a difficult situation if the foundation doesn't raise enough funds.

The school board is still dedicated to making sure taxpayers won’t be forced to help fund the project. PACE Fundraising, a Fargo firm the school contracted last year, is still helping the foundation raise the money.

At the school board’s regular meeting in March, Superintendent Jill Louters said PACE Fundraising will soon begin its big fundraising push – which means going out and asking alumni and community members for contributions to help make the gym a reality.

The district created a new pamphlet for the project, which restates the need for the project and its benefits, such as better practice times and the elimination of gym sharing, as well as room for indoor recess during inclement weather.

Once constructed, the Foundation would then be required to maintain and operate the building.

“Foundation shall keep the foundations, exterior walls and roof of the Gymnasium in good repair during the term of the Lease,” states the lease agreement. “Foundation [is] responsible for all major and minor repairs and maintenance of the Gymnasium during the term of the Lease.”

The lease agreement stipulates that the initial term will last until January 31, 2025, and must be renewed on an annual basis. The Foundation’s lease payment to the school district would be just $100 each year.

Should the lease not be renewed, the district would simply take over ownership of the gymnasium.