“The agreement calls for (the school district’s administrative office) to be demolished,” said school Superintendent Brad Neavin.
The demolition is needed before Dayton Metro can build a roadway to Scott Avenue that will provide access to both the new library and campus property.
The agreement also calls for the current library building at 500 S. Dixie Drive to revert back to the school district since Dayton Metro is leasing the land, which is owned by the school district.
“What we will be investigating is to see if that’s a suitable facility for us to move our administrative offices to,” Neavin said of the current library building. “At this point, it looks like it’s a pretty sound building, but we’re not ready to say that’s for sure where we’re moving into.”
The move will affect 23 employees who currently work in the district’s administration office.
Earlier this month, Jayne Klose, community engagement manager for the Dayton Metro Library, told this newspaper that the demolition of the board of education building could mean green space for the northern part of the new library property.
Construction on the new library is set to begin this fall with completion expected at the end of 2016.
The district also owns the property where the new library will be located, which is north of the current library building.
On June 23, school board members voted 4 to 1 to approve the development agreement with the Dayton Metro Library system.
Board member George Moorman was the lone vote against the agreement with the library system.
“I think the library is great for this community and good for the kids,” Moorman said after the vote. “I see a cost that the school is going to have to deal with, which is strictly a cost to renovate space for the new offices.”
Moorman added that he realizes taxes are paying for the library just like they are paying for the operation of the school district. However, he said, “I would have expected possibly some of those library taxes to assist us in some of those costs.”
The current 9,000-square-foot library has five rooms, including a staff room, a main space and a program room that can seat up to 40 people, according to Jennifer Kadel, Vandalia Library’s branch manager.
The district’s administration building is approximately 9,600 square feet and dates back to the 1930s.
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