Restoration may be 'logical conclusion' for EC Annex

Eagle Creek Annex committee to meet April 6 at 7 p.m. at EHS

By Evan Jensen

The Estacada News, Mar 25, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Eagle Creek Annex Committee members will continue the discussion about future plans for the aging school building next to the current Eagle Creek Elementary School on Highway 211 beginning at 7 p.m. on april 6 in the Estacada High School choir room.

Evan Jensen / Estacada News

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Four months ago, the Estacada School Board formed a committee to look at options for the aging Eagle Creek Annex Building. The building adjacent to Eagle Creek Elementary has been closed for classroom use for more than three decades, and district officials are concerned about the deteriorating condition of the building.

Moss covers portions of the roof and old staircase, and plywood boards cover the original doorway and windows. Except for when people are accessing a few items in storage kept in the building, the place is typically locked. The Annex committee has explored a variety of options for the building in the last few months and hopes to submit a recommendation to the school board in the near future.

“This group has met quite a number of times,” Estacada School Board Member and Annex Committee Chair Mary Ann Bugni said. “At this point, I think we need to put some numbers to the options we’ve been looking at and proceed with what we have tasked ourselves to do. There may be a monkey wrench in the process depending on what recommendation this group makes, but we need to finish up our work on this as a group.”

The monkey wrench Bugni is referring to is the building’s historic status. Just because the building has an estimated $18,000 asbestos problem, an aging roof and access issues for persons with disabilities doesn’t mean that demolition or a learn-to-burn fire exercise is the easiest or most cost-effective option for the building. The Annex committee has also considered leaving the building alone, relocating it or remodeling it for district use or that of possible tenants.

But without a clear understanding of what the building could potentially be used for, District grant writer Kevin Olds said, it will be difficult to seek grant funding without a plan in place. And the building’s historic status may be the monkey wrench that weighs heavily on the committee’s recommendation.

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