TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2001
Board selects in-town site for new middle school
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
Residents of the area chosen for the new Tiffin Middle School shared their emotions and concerns Monday night.
The board of education voted to select an in-town site, bounded by Martha, Front, Union and Ella streets, for the site of the new middle school.
People owning property there or living nearby expressed concerns after hearing the board and Superintendent Denise Callihan give the points, pro and con, for each possible site.
Janice Agerter, whose parents live at 99 Union St., said her father, Eugene Mizen, built his home "with his own two hands.''
"You say that no one is going to push anyone off their property,'' Agerter said. "But my parents are elderly, and they feel as if they are being pushed from their property.''
"My mother lives behind Janice,'' said Margaret Kastner, speaking on behalf of her mother, Myrtle Kipps. "My mother has rental property in front of where she lives for income. She's on a fixed income. She's 74. I don't know what it is going to do to her.''
Doug Reinhart, 189 Union St., has 13 properties that the building site is going to affect. Yet he felt it was the logical site choice for the board to make.
"I've been there 25 years,'' he said. "I don't want to move, but I think they will be fair with us. They're not going to shove us out.''
He talked of his loss, of seeing the bald eagles and natural wonders along the river. But Reinhart also cited the proximity of the site to safety forces and to transportation for the children, and looked at it from a strictly business standpoint.
Jim Reuter and his wife, Jenna, are not directly affected by the site acquisition. They voiced concerns on flooding, lack of sidewalks along Ella and River Road, and drainage problems that could occur.
Joel Hale, also of Union Street, said he was concerned that the people displaced &emdash; just over 20 &emdash; would not be able to find adequate housing available in Tiffin.
Callihan said the appraisal process, to be conducted by Erie Coast Appraisal Group Inc. of Toledo, will begin soon when property owners receive a registered letter. They will be asked to set up an appointment to meet with the appraiser, go over the house's additions and renovations, and discuss the value. The board of education will receive an appraisal report, and will determine when the property is purchased.
"It will take six to eight weeks for the appraisal process,'' Callihan said. "MS Consultants will then start negotiations with the landowners, which will take one to two months. Then we will work out a time as to when they have to move.''
The building schedule has site preparation beginning Aug. 1.
The other site would have been off SR 101 in Clinton Township, on land owned by the Tiffin Developmental Center. Additional utility and road construction costs, plus costs to bus more than 95 percent of the children, were factors that detracted from the site.
Proximity to the high school and stadium, easy transportation for students and availability of utilities made the in-town site the choice of the board.
All board members acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, one that affected so many people's homes.
"I appreciate listening to people,'' board member Pat Hillmer said. "I know they are suffering. I know how difficult this is for you, we can all put ourselves in your shoes. It is very difficult to be asked to move, and we have all struggled with this.''
"I hope what comes across is that we are trying to do what is best for the long-term benefit of the community,'' she added.
"We are affecting many generations of students,'' fellow board member Bob Joyce said. "We have to look 40 years to the future.''
During the architectural design process, the board and its committees will examine some of the issues brought up during the meeting.