New district offices called best deal, but still unlikely

Building a new administration building would cost Elmbrook about $4.9 million, but that's a better deal than paying $3.4 million to repair the school district's existing offices and storage building, school district officials said.

Significant maintenance has been deferred on the buildings for the past 14 years because of budget constraints, according to a recent report prepared by Keith Brightman, district finance and operations administrator, and Scott Miller, facilities director.

All those delayed repairs must be done within the next three years, Miller said, or the buildings will fail.

"If we do not address failing buildings and infrastructures, it is simply another form of debt service that we will ultimately have to pay," the report states.

But while building a new central office is the best long-term value for the district, Brightman said, "… politically, it probably isn't the right time to build a new central administration office."

"Sometimes the best long-term solution doesn't fit well politically when you have budget problems," he said in a follow-up interview.

Too much space

Elmbrook's Central Administrative Offices are housed in a former elementary school at 13780 Hope St., Brookfield. The 56,500-square-foot building was constructed in phases between 1955 and 1963. That piecemeal construction resulted in a building that is inefficient and costly to operate, the report states.

It's also too big, Brightman said. The building houses 55 employees.

"Even without our (staff) reductions internally, we still are over-sized. … About a size twice as big as we need for our scale of operations," he said.

According to the report, the building needs an estimated $2.4 million in upgrades, including a new roof, repairs to outside walls and pavement, and a heating and cooling system overhaul.

A building at 16945 W. North Ave., Brookfield, is used for food service storage, and repair space and storage for building and grounds equipment and district vehicles. Half the space is leased to the Amy Montessori School. That building needs $1 million in fixes.

Consolidation recommended

Brightman and Miller are recommending the district sell the Hope Street property, construct a new administrative office on the North Avenue parcel and demolish the North Avenue building.

They suggested a willingness to consider incorporating space for Amy Montessori, which generates about $45,300 in revenue annually for the district, and said the new building should include storage and repair space to replace that lost by the demolition of the North Avenue building.

While a new building would cost more initially, it would save the district money over time, the report says.

Demolition and construction for the new building combined would cost $4.9 million. It is estimated that selling the Hope Street property would bring in $1.35 million.

The two existing buildings currently cost a combined $320,000 in annual utility and maintenance expenses. A smaller, more efficient building is estimated to cost less than $76,000 per year to operate.

In total, the estimated 10-year cost of the building, factoring in operational savings and land sale income, would be about $2.3 million. In comparison, repairing the buildings would cost $3.4 million, plus ongoing operational costs.

Money in reserves

A new building likely would be paid for from the district's cash reserve, according to a report by the board's finance committee.

However, the board acknowledged new construction likely would be unpopular so soon after high school remodeling and amid talk of closing one or two elementary schools.

Brightman said the district is looking at other options, like leasing office space, remodeling and expanding the existing North Avenue building, or moving the central offices into one or more of the district's elementary school buildings.

The idea will be discussed by the Enrollment Management Study Team, and board members will take it up again in May or June.

BY THE NUMBERS

Estimated costs to repair the Central Administrative Offices and North Avenue buildings, according to a recent report

$1 million

roofing repairs

$350,000

outside wall repairs

$1.24 million

pavement repairs

$805,000

heating and cooling system repairs

$3.4 million

total estimated repair costs