This week’s Tama City Council meeting started with a discussion about the old STC middle school. South Tama High School teacher Deanna Zmolek spoke to the council about supporting a letter to the STC School Board asking for a delay to the selling of the old middle school. Zmolek, a representative for the STC rec board, explained.

“(On) Sept. 22, it was announced that the school board had a substantial buyer for the middle school. Everybody was under the impression that the school was keeping the gym or was going to have a purchase agreement with whoever the buyer was for the use of the gym facility. That is no longer happening. The purchase agreement states that the buyer gets full use of that whole block facility where the middle school sits on,” she said.

The three present members of the council, Danny Robinson, Larry Thomas, and Michelle Jimenez, discussed the issue. It was ultimately agreed upon that the council would sign the letter to delay the sale of the middle school, wanting more research. The letter in full is attached at the end of this article.

The council approved the Iowa DOT agreement for a culvert project. The council sent the vacation of an alley located at 105 Hall St. to the planning and zoning board.

The council approved two $11,000 grants for Hardon’s for 106 and 108 W. 4th St. The urban renewal report was approved.

The council approved moving forward with a new company for a website redesign.

The letter to the STC School Board

Dear STC Board of Education Members,

We would like to formally express our strong opposition to the proposed sale of the South Tama Middle School Gym in Toledo and request that the Board of Education delay any action on the proposed sale. It was not communicated to the public or STC staff until the September 22 board meeting that the sale of the Middle School included the gymnasium. We strongly urge the Board to ignore the “time is of the essence” clause in the purchase agreement and consider alternative solutions that would keep the usage of the gym accessible to the community.

South Tama Recreation provides valuable recreational opportunities for STC students in kindergarten through eighth grade. This last year, REC offered seven different activities serving approximately 500 youths. For more than 50 years, the REC program has worked closely with the school to rent facilities needed for student athletes prior to school activities. In the winter months, the REC basketball programs rent gyms for practices five days a week for 10-12 practices. In a current partnership, there are six high and middle school programs that are using the REC papermill location as a practice area. The need for more gym space is essential for all programs in the community.

It is our understanding the City of Toledo has indicated that they would take ownership of the gym area, but the district only offered the entire Middle School block, so the City declined. As an organization funded by the cities and taxpayer money, why would the city need to take on the burden of demolishing the building when the bond vote allocated $500,000 of taxpayer money for this purpose already?

The long-term impact of losing this facility to a potential International School of Study or a Children’s home far outweighs any short-term fiscal gain. Keeping the gym in possession of the City allows for the possibility of a community rec center which can increase local property values while making the community and school district more attractive to new families and businesses.

We believe the decision to sell this facility is short-sighted and informing the public and voting to sell the property in less than a month seems rushed and is not transparent. We believe more due diligence is required before selling to an outside investor.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We trust that the Board will act in the best interest of the students, families, and communities it serves by delaying the sale of the Middle School property.

Sincerely,

Chelsea Ahrens, Sierra Berger, Ashley Raue, Lindsay Schumacher, Kaiyla Wacha & Deanna Zmolek

South Tama Recreation Board

This letter also has the support of these local organizations:

South Tama Activities Booster Inc.

STC Club Volleyball

South Tama YSF

Iowa River Outlaws

Midwest Iowa Thunder Volleyball

STC Archery

City of Tama