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The Fort Dodge Community School District Board of Education approved a proposal on Monday evening from a Fort Dodge man to purchase the former Riverside Elementary School and the property it sits on at 733 F St.
Fort Dodge resident Steve Hebert, who lives across the street from the property, put in an offer of $178,000 to purchase the property after initially seeking to buy a small part of the Riverside parcel that's actually on the other side of F Street.
On Monday, the board voted unanimously to approve the purchase proposal following a public hearing where interested community members could comment or ask questions about the plan. Only one member of the public attended Monday's meeting.
Sarah SmallCarter, of Fort Dodge, shared concerns she has for the future of the Riverside school building and whether the purchaser plans on utilizing the building or if he is just interested in the land.
"With that in mind, I feel that that is a waste of a very good building that could be put to use in our community," she said. "I think that this is a missed opportunity to provide a home for maybe a nonprofit or community center that could be well-utilized in our community."
School Board President Stu Cochrane addressed SmallCarter's questions during the discussion on the resolution to approve the proposal. He said in the past, the district has been "lucky" to give away district-owned buildings because it's been near impossible to find buyers.
"And, sadly, you're right -- there is always a need for organizations for space," Cochrane said.
But it's even hard for the district to give a building like Riverside to a community organization or nonprofit because the upkeep is "extremely high" for a building like Riverside and the cost to bring it up to current building codes would be "tremendous."
The district's Executive Director of Financial Services Brandon Hansel previously told The Messenger that replacing the old steam boiler system in the school would alone cost about half a million dollars.
"We've had difficulty finding people that we can just transfer the title to without any money being passed, so tonight we have a unique opportunity to actually benefit taxpayers by receiving a sizable six-figure price," Cochrane said.
The board voted unanimously to approve the resolution selling the property to Hebert, with board members Lisa Shimkat and Dan Altman absent. The resolution allows the district administration to move forward with executing the sale agreement.
The Messenger spoke with Hebert about his plans for the Riverside property. He said he isn't able to elaborate on those plans right now, but he does have something in mind.
"What I plan on doing will be for the betterment of the community," Hebert said.
Riverside Elementary School served the west side of Fort Dodge for many years. The current building was built in the 1960s, Hansel said, and saw hundreds of students pass through its classrooms over the years.
According to previous reporting from The Messenger, in May 2012, to meet a $1.7 million budget shortfall, the district repurposed Riverside Elementary as an early learning center and reduced its staff.
Until the Early Childhood Center opened in the former Arey School in 2021, Riverside Early Learning Center housed the district's preschool, pre-kindergarten and transitional kindergarten classes. For about a year, the building sat empty, until the students and staff of Cooper Elementary School moved in temporarily in January 2022 while the Cooper building underwent a major renovation project.