MEETING SUMMARY
James E. Roberts School 97 Public Input Forum

Wednesday, June 27, 2007, 7:00 p.m., Arsenal Technical High School, Stuart Hall

1. IPS Superintendent Eugene White convened the meeting and made introductions. Also present were school board members and Steve Young, IPS Facilities Manager.

2.  Mark Sausser, an IPS attorney from Baker and Daniels, reviewed the history of the unique trust restrictions on the Arsenal Technical Campus (his text is below).

3. Tracy Heaton de Martinez, NESCO Director, represented neighbors and the sixteen neighborhood associations and community organizations who oppose the demolition of School 97. All those is favor of saving the school were invited to stand up (every person other than IPS staff and board members stood; 70 people attended the meeting). Heaton de Martinez projected images of the school, architecture, and campus while explaining why the building should be saved. She conveyed that the unified community values the school’s unique social and architectural history and that the eastside is rebuilding and not tearing down.  She asked the school board to spare the building and find another use for it.

4. Marsh Davis, executive director of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, emphasized the importance of the building (it is still on HLFI’s top 10 endangered structures). He summarized a condition assessment report prepared for NESCO in 2006 by James T. Kienle and Associates in conjunction with Arsee Engineers. This report estimates $500,000 for exterior (and some interior) stabilization repairs, as opposed to IPS’s $2.7 estimate. HLFI offered to work with IPS to stabilize the exterior shell, find suitable educational licensees, and fund a land-use study to solve Harshman’s need for more athletic fields.

5. After a lengthy question-and-answer period (about issues such as licensing, liability/risk management, the adjacent Harshman Middle School’s need for outdoor sports area, the definition of education, and the oversight role of the attorney general) the conversation evolved into brainstorming about possible uses/partnerships for the school (a disabilities civil rights museum, environmental education, arts classes, etc.). Superintendent White offered that there is a need for after-school programs for high school students who are not into sports.

6. White concluded that IPS would allow HLFI/NESCO until February 1, 2008 to explore options and present a proposal. IPS will provide parameters for possible uses and work with the Save School 97 Task Force.

7. NESCO invited IPS board members to join organizations and neighbors on a tour of the school , followed by  a picnic in the “tree lab” south of the building. Date has yet to be determined.