Kingsland School Updates at the Forefront of Wykoff Council Meeting

By Zech Sindt

The Wykoff City Council meeting came to order at 7 p.m. on September 9. Mayor Ryan Breckenridge, City Administrator Becky Schmidt, Administrative Assistant Luann Hare, and city council members Kaleb Himli, Lyle Morey, Barbara Fate and Jeffrey Hare were all present.

Kingsland School Superintendent Scott Klavetter attended the meeting to discuss some upcoming issues voters will need to decide on soon. Klavetter says there will be two questions on the ballot for this upcoming election. The first question, worth $8.9 million, will address building upkeep issues, and the second question, worth $11.5 million, will address whether or not voters want to build an addition on the school.

According to the school’s website, many of the facilities have fallen behind in maintenance. The maintenance question on the ballot will address the following issues:

• Replace the existing roof with the exception of the gymnasium, which was done in 2023.

• Complete various building envelope repairs on the 1957, 1962 and 1976 portions of the facility.

• Replace the remaining aged windows on the 1957 and 1962 portions of the facility.

• Upgrade and repair mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in portions of the lower level of the 1952, 1962 and 1975 portions of the facility.

• Repair and replace select existing curbs and sidewalks and repair, reseal and re-stripe the existing asphalt areas of the parking lots, as needed.

• Complete improvements to the playground to improve safety, repair and replace the existing outdoor recess, physical education, and athletic equipment storage buildings, and replace outdated and aging doors, door hardware, and flooring.

Question Two proposes an addition on the east side of the existing facility to:

• Provide additional gymnasium space to support physical education use during the school day.

• Provide a flexible classroom to support multiple uses, including Community Education that can be used for either youth or adult programming or other multipurpose programming such as student clubs or curricular activities.

• Create improved, ADA-compliant locker rooms.

• Create an improved weights/fitness room and remodel the existing weight room located on the main gymnasium’s stage to use for other critical programming.

• Provide additional storage space and family restrooms to support students and community.

• The addition would also meet building code requirements for storm shelters.

Question Two cannot pass unless Question One also passes. Klavetter says if the improvements pass the vote, they will be paid for with a property tax increase over 25 years. If voters approve both options, they can expect to see their property taxes go up approximately $8.78 per month. Klavetter says that the last time any major improvements were done to the facilities was in 2019. At that time, those non-voter approved improvements included asbestos removal and HVAC upgrades. The last voter-approved work was done in 2007. Voters can go to kingslandbond.org/ to learn more about the improvements and what they will cost each voter individually.

The next major topic on the agenda involved an upcoming street and utility redevelopment project. Stantec Consulting Services  has been retained to come up with a feasibility report that will include approximately 4,080 linear feet of surface on Line Street North, Line Street South, South Main Street, and Silver Street North. The proposed report will break down the project areas and estimated project costs. That information can then be used by the city to tailor the size and scope of the project to what can be afforded in 2025 and in the years to come. Stantec will charge the city $17,267 in two parts. The first part will include a site evaluation, project management and communications. That cost will be $6,900. The second part will include the feasibility report drafting and analysis. That cost will be $10,116.

The rest of the meeting consisted of standard business updates. A library box will be built and donated by local resident Shannon Schmidt, a cannabis review meeting will happen on October 2, and the current budget was approved.

In new business, the city council approved a 5% pay raise for all city employees. Next year’s tax levy was also approved in a roll-call vote. The $241,165.60 levy will be appropriated as follows; $181,109.60 for the General Fund, $24,915 for the 305 Refunding Bond, and $35,141 for the 407 County 5. They also approved a motion to repair a drainage ditch on Carimona Street East. The last item on the agenda was the approval for the new siren.  The council originally budgeted $30,000 for the siren. American Signal Corporation from Milwaukee originally came in at $36,000, but after some negotiating by Schmidt, they dropped their price to $27,000.