“We want to thank everyone again for voting. We were saddened by the results of the election, but the community has spoken clearly on the issue for now. The voters made it clear that they would like to see additional options and would like to see more public meetings. We will listen, compromise and find common ground to eventually build a great facility for the City of Manzanita.” said Mike Scott, Manzanita Mayor.
There are no immediate plans to demolish the old school. In October 2018, City Council reviewed the first assessment of the old school and the quonset hut. WRK Engineers evaluated both structures. Their report indicated that, “in general, the elementary school is in poor condition and appears to have suffered from many years of deferred maintenance and neglect”. For the quonset hut, the engineering report noted that “the quonset hut is in fair condition for a building of its age. There are deferred maintenance items notes, but the quonset hut is in far better shape than the elementary school.”
In March 2019, after hearing the second engineering assessment, City Council made the decision to not consider options that include use of the old school and to further explore the potential uses of the quonset hut. This second evaluation was completed by Stricker Engineering. The engineer’s recommendation noted that it might be more expensive to remodel than to build new. The two engineering documents can be found on the City website https://ci.manzanita.or.us/forms.html.
Council has not had further conversations about both buildings since then, but will start public discussions next year. The current Underhill Plaza tenants, North Coast Watchman Services and Howell’s Floor Covering were originally given a year notice to relocate but they have been given extra time to relocate.
City Council is now taking a break from this topic through the holiday season and will take up the new City facilities project again at the first of next year. In the meantime, the City will work on addressing the critical immediate needs of the City offices until a permanent solution is identified.
As we look forward in evaluating the new City facilities project, we welcome your thoughts and ideas in developing community solutions.
