St. John takes first step toward expansion
St. John Lutheran School representatives are hoping a 46-year-old vision will soon have new life.
Quadrant Design project architect Jennifer Eckart and former principal Chris Urquhart spoke to the Chester City Council on March 6 about a project to build a new school.
Project organizers are asking the council to approve vacating a portion of High Street from West Holmes Street to German Street to enable the project to move forward and create a cohesive campus.
"Without this happening, the school may have to relocate farther away on farmland," Urquhart said.
Urquhart, who retired from St. John in 2011 after 41 years of service, said the school has been working on building new facility since he arrived in 1970, but administrators were previously thwarted due to lack of site availability.
"We've really struggled with a solution to accomplish expansion on site," Eckart said. "And this accomplishes all the goals that they want."
Urquhart noted the goals for the project - which include the school being used for recreational purposes, as well as a safer and more advanced learning environment for students - made building a new school a priority.
In an interview after the meeting, Urquhart said the front portion of the current school was built in the 1840s, with the rear portion added during World War II.
Eckert said the project would be built in phases, with the first phase being construction of an addition to the existing St. John Lutheran Church. According to architectural plans released to the media after the meeting, the church addition would include an early childhood center (with rooms for children from infant to age 3), quilting room, meeting rooms, pantry and office space.
The second phase would involve building a new academic building behind the church, with the current school building kept operational during construction.
Once the new academic building is complete, the original building will be demolished to create a new parking lot for the church, school and parish hall.
The fourth phase would add a corridor across the vacated portion of High Street to the existing parish hall, which also houses the existing gymnasium, to allow students easy access to the new school building.
The drawing also lists a space for "future parking" west of the campus with access from Oak Street.
"This really is the preliminary stages," Urquhart said, adding that while there is no timetable for the project, he was hopeful the first phase could begin within a year. "This is the first step to see if the city would consider vacating High Street."
The architectural rendering shows High Street - listed as "purpose to be abandoned" on the drawing - would become a cul-de-sac for the front entrance of the proposed new school.
Other alterations would move the current playground, now located next to West Holmes Street, to the back half of High Street by German Street.
City attorney Jeff Kerkhover told the council an ordinance to vacate the portion of High Street being discussed would need to be approved by three-fourths of the council members.
He suggested setting up a hearing so that members of the public could weigh in on the topic. That hearing was later approved by the council to be scheduled for April 3 at 5:30 p.m.
The council will meet for its regular meeting at 6 p.m. that night and could possibly vote on the topic during that meeting.
In other news, the council spent considerable time discussing a master key system for employees for the Cohen Complex and Cole Park. City of Chester employee Lorin Mott stated he currently carries 30 to 40 keys with him.
"I'm trying to condense it down for everybody," he said.
The council members, as well as City of Chester and Park Board members in attendance, then discussed who would get copies of the master key, with Mott suggesting that department heads be the ones to receive a copy.
Alderwoman Nancy Crossland stated that the city "spent a ton of money" on the old system, which was controversial at the time. Chester Recreation Director Patti Carter noted that key fobs cost $50 apiece.
"I just think somebody's got to be in control of it," said alderman Robert Platt.
It was later decided that Mott would be the one to designate the dispersal of master keys and the $1,193 cost of the new system was approved.
Later, the council approved Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert to pursue a new command vehicle for the fire department.
Bert said his current vehicle, a 2001 Ford Crown Victoria and former police car, has 145,000 miles on it and is not four-wheel drive.
"It's in need of some repairs if we're going to keep it," he said.
Bert said he would prefer to get something like a Chevrolet Tahoe or Suburban that could also pull the CFD's rescue boat.
Bert noted that the CFD has $15,000 in its account through the accumulation of foreign fire tax funds and is looking for an amount not to exceed $10,000 from the city.
"I will not buy or pursue anything more than $25,000," he said.
The council later approved Bert to pursue information on a new command vehicle and report back to the council at a later date.
"This will get us by for the next 10 to 15 years," Bert said.
<strong>ROUNDUP</strong>
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<li>City Treasurer Donna Clendenin noted that, financially, the city was "holding its head above water" 10 months into the fiscal year.</li>
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"Everything looks good until some of the big projects start," she said.
Chester Mayor Tom Page said the city has not received a check from the state since Feb. 1 and that he recently met with Menard Correctional Center Warden Jacqueline Lashbrook and explained the prison's utility balance to her.
After the meeting, City Clerk Bethany Berner told local media the state owes the City of Chester $1,035,942.02.
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<li>Chester Police Chief Ryan Coffey noted he was having a meeting with the Randolph County Emergency Management Agency and the Randolph County Health Department about the upcoming solar eclipse.</li>
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He noted that testing for the full-time officer position would begin on March 25 with orientation at 8 a.m. and a written exam at 9 a.m. Oral interviews will take place that afternoon.
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<li>Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert reported a very busy month for his department in February with 24 calls, bringing the CFD to 31 for the year.</li>
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"We're very above what we normally are for the year," he said.
Bert noted that 10 of the calls were related to brush fires and that firefighters also responded to Perryville to help with search and rescue after the recent tornado.
"We got very lucky," he said. "The tornado went south of us and there was very little damage to Randolph County."
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<li>The council approved the payment of bills in the amount of $153,939.60, and the Evergreen Cemetery report for February, which showed three transactions in the amount of $825.</li>
<li>The council approved, on a 7-1 vote with alderman Robert Platt voting no, a $3,000 donation to the Popeye & Friends Character Trail.</li>
<li>The council approved, on a 5-3 vote with aldermen Donnie Clark, Robert Platt and Mike Blechle voting no, Bruce Rademacher as a seasonal flower/plant caretaker for $10.50 per hour.</li>
<li>The council approved the purchase of a side-by-side UTV for the city's parks for $21,500.</li>
<li>The council approved the purchase of a water wagon for watering the fields at the Cohen Complex for a price of $4,840.43. Mott said he had talked the company representative into a $400 discount.</li>
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He added that he had looked into a sprinkler system for the fields, but that it would cost $10,000 for materials alone.
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<li>The council approved two agreements with J&S Services to mow the Cohen Complex and Cole Park for a 1 percent increase from the previous year. The price for the Cohen Complex will be $571.26 per mow, with $392.74 per mow for Cole Park.</li>
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Both agreements are not to exceed 31 mows.
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<li>The council formally approved an ordinance naming the entrance road to the Chester Country Club as "The Longest Drive."</li>
<li>Finally, the council approved a $6,096 painting bid from Ted Mueller to perform painting work at Chester City Hall, the Chester Police Department and the "Welcome to Chester" sign at the Chester Welcome Center.</li>
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