County mulls demolishing school

Madison County officials may look into knocking down the former Criglersville Elementary School building and transforming the property into a park.
“We’ve discussed the Criglersville school since I’ve been on this board,” Supervisors Chairman Eddie Dean – who started serving in 2004 – told the supervisors at their April 30 workshop meeting.

“I think it’s time to put that back on the table, make some decisions,” he said, suggesting that the board either “do something” with the 5.7-acre county-owned site or “get rid of it.”

The land, which has been publicly owned for about a century, includes three “non-conforming lots,” which are pieces of property that do not satisfy regulations included in the county zoning ordinance. The site’s buildings were last regularly used as a school during the 2002-2003 school year. They were then used regularly as a community center and polling place up until 2006. Their “grandfather” status lapsed when county officials closed the buildings to the public.

Officials say the main former school building’s 1940s-era water and septic system would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring up to stricter modern-day codes. Although the buildings have stayed locked up, a public playground and athletic field there are still used regularly.

Using the former school property as a park is likely the only way county officials can use the land without having to pursue “a lot” of rezoning, Dean said at the meeting.

But as long as the 1949 school structure is left untouched, it will continue to deteriorate, County Administrator Lisa Robertson said at the meeting last week.
Supervisors Vice Chairman James Arrington suggested the supervisors look into the cost of tearing down the former school building. Madison County Facilities and Maintenance Director Ross Shifflett added that officials should also consider the cost of hauling away the excess building material.
“We learned that lesson on the courthouse,” he said, referring to the county’s current courthouse renovation project.

The facilities and maintenance director also mentioned that officials would likely have to look into special removal of asbestos in the building.
“I suspect you’d have to have a lot of paperwork to dump that building,” Shifflett said.

The idea of using the property as a park isn’t a new one. At an August 2007 public hearing regarding a previous proposal to sell the property along Old Blue Ridge Turnpike to a neighboring church for $100,000, some county residents reportedly suggested the county keep the property, saying it needs the athletic field and that the site would make a good Robinson River park or fulfill some other needed civic use.

Other citizens criticized the county for considering such a low sale price and expressed concerns that the supervisors didn’t market the property wider. Last fall, the county posted the property for sale at its most recently assessed value of $854,000 on two separate Multiple Listing Service real estate databases.
“Those who predicted we’d get millions of dollars for it were overly confident,” the county administrator said at the meeting last week. During the almost four months the property was on the market, county officials didn’t “have a single serious inquiry,” she said.

If taxpayers insist the county pursue a sale of the property at the full amount of its assessed value, the county may have to hold onto the property for “quite awhile” until the real estate market recovers, according to Robertson. 

Arrington and Supervisor Bill Crigler both raised concerns about whether officials could still pursue the sale of the property since the board recently approved the Madison County Electoral Board’s request to move the Criglersville voting precinct from Todd’s Garage in Banco back to its previous location in one of the two white, wood-frame cottages on the site.

However, even if the county sells the building, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will no longer be able to be used as a polling place, the county administrator said, pointing out that some of the county’s other polling places are located inside privately-owned properties.

The supervisors chairman said that the use of the property as a polling place would be something officials would have to consider if they happen to receive an offer to purchase the property.

“Do you think there’s a chance of somebody walking in and putting an offer on the table? Do you think we will have to face that?” Dean asked Arrington, who chuckled and shook his head.