8 April 2014
Terry Wolterstorff, P.E.
Director
Department of Public Works
City of Rapid City
By E-mail (with 5 attachments)
Dear Mr. Wolterstorff:
Please accept our apology for the delay in providing you the attached background information on prior events and circumstances related to the tennis courts at Eighth Street. We incorrectly assumed that the notion of using the Memorial Greenway for a parking lot for downtown workers was no longer in play.
We have summarized below our recollection of the discussions and decisions that occurred related to siting elements of the Rapid City Central High School expansion in 2009. In support of that summary are public documents related to those discussions. Some of the material is not in the public domain, since there were legal matters at issue and the discussions occurred in private, executive sessions. We attempted to gather personal recollections of individuals who were privy to those discussions, but too much time has gone by for anyone to recall specific details. Mike Kenton, Facilities director at RCAC is a good source to confirm the following description of events.
Summary
In November 2009 it came to light that the plans for expansion of Central High School included use of park land for a new science wing on the existing building. The footprint of the structure would have encroached into land in the Rapid Creek Greenway designated as park, a use not allowed under South Dakota statute. (SDCL Secs. 9-38-33, 9-38-35(through 2012)). Friends of Rapid City Parks objected. (Attachment 1, Rapid City Journal, 11/14/09)
Other community members and organizations also objected, including a group that wanted to see the school district consider construction of an additional high school rather than expansion of Central. The school board was concerned that putting the issue (changing park designation) to a vote might fail (Attachment 2, Rapid City Journal, 11/16/09)
After numerous discussions among school board members, citizens, and members of the Friends board, the facilities committee came up with a revised site plan for the expansion, which swapped the positions of the science wing addition and the gym addition, and moved parking to the north. This change created a “recreation facility” in park land, not a “school building,” which is not an allowable use under statute. In addition, the school district and the city executed a memorandum of understanding that allows the public to use the school gym as a recreation facility. (Attachment 3, RCAS_City_Joint_Agmt)
Friends of Rapid City Parks dropped its challenge to the expansion project in the recognition that the “recreation facility” circumvented the statutory ban on school buildings in the park, and with the understanding based on verbal statements from Mike Kenton, then-parks-director Jerry Cole, and school board members that the 8th Street tennis courts were no longer needed because of new courts elsewhere in the park system, and that the paved areas covered by the old courts and adjacent parking lot would be torn out and restored to the greenway in compensation for the encroachment of the new school addition. (Attachment 4, KEVN story; 4B RCAS_11-18-09)
We made our acquiescence in the change public at the Dec. 10, 2009 meeting of the Planning Commission (minutes available online); the city council subsequently approved the zoning change and the memorandum of agreement on Dec. 21, 2009 (minutes available online).
We hope this clarifies our understanding of what happened in 2009, and why we relied upon the good word of public officials that the tennis courts and parking lot would be returned to the greenway. Over the intervening years, we inquired about when the action would actually be taken, but there was no conclusive answer, and the school district and the parks department each deferred to the other. We also understand that this was not a high priority, and other needs took precedence for scarce city resources.
That does not mean, however, that our patience is infinite, or that we’ve given up on the idea.
We will attend the Public Works Committee meeting next week to reaffirm our staunch opposition to using the greenway to create parking for downtown business employees.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Iudicello Martley
Executive Director