School district, city to meet on school

An upcoming visit between two local governments could help prevent a big local asset from degrading into a permanent eyesore.

The Grand Coulee Dam School District has been invited to Grand Coulee’s next planning commission meeting on Feb. 8, to let planners know what it plans for the Center School property.

The school district has conducted two advertisements calling for bids on the 8.3-acre school building and property, but has never appeared before city planners.

Both attempts to receive bids have failed to produce any because investors want to know how the property is going to be zoned before they invest money.

At the last call for bids, due Dec. 1, three parties had indicated an interest in the building and property, but did not bid.

The planning commission spent nearly its entire meeting Jan. 11 on the re-zone of the Center School property, and decided that the owner of the property should be the entity that requests the re-zone.

The planning commission is currently working to better define the city’s business district, and any changes will most certainly include Center School’s property.

Planning Chair Tammara Byers had stated that the commission was not especially “looking at a single property, but what needs to be done throughout the city.”

Since Center School has been vacated it has been the scene of various vandalism incidents, costing the district money, and gradually becoming an eyesore.

Byers had stated that the rezoning issue could take as long as nine months to achieve because the city is looking at all its needs and how one decision can affect another.