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In April, the Winona School Board approved a joint-powers agreement between Winona State University and the Morrie Miller Athletic Foundation, a nonprofit that helps fund athletic programs. The groups planned to share costs for renovating and maintaining Paul Giel Field, which would become Winona Senior High School’s athletic facility and be used by WSU and Cotter High School.
That joint-powers agreement has been scrapped after the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system told WSU to pull out, and the renovations are on hold because bids for the project aren’t attracting much interest. The district removed an agenda item from its meeting tonight regarding the renovation.
The attorney general’s office recently advised MnSCU that WSU could not enter into an agreement with the foundation, under Minnesota statute, said Gregory Ewin, director of real estate for MnSCU.
“It would have been fine with just the school district,” Ewin said. “The deal structure just couldn’t work.”
The district’s vote on the proposal has been postponed until August, said Jeff Seeley, the district’s director of finances. Clough Harbour and Associates, the firm hired to design the project, told the district that competition from contractors has been low and waiting a month to put out bids could increase interest and possibly reduce the cost of renovations.
“They are finding the market isn’t conducive to a good bid right now,” Seeley said.
Meanwhile, WSU and the district are working on a lease agreement that could move the project forward, and both Seeley and Erwin said it would be ready for an August decision.
Scott Ellinghuysen, WSU’s chief financial officer, said the delays haven’t soured the university on the project.
“We are still 100-percent committed to getting this thing done,” he said.
Unaffected by the developments is the lease levy the board approved earlier this year, which will fund the district’s portion of the renovations, Seeley said. In May, the board voted for a $650,000 lease levy, an increase over a previously approved $500,000 levy, because of a decision to switch from grass to artificial turf for the football field.
At tonight’s meeting, the board is scheduled to vote on adopting handbooks for elementary schools and WSHS, and updates to four district policies, involving violence prevention, student discipline, crisis management and student surveys. The board also will set a date for its Truth in Taxation hearing in December.
Contact reporter Nolan Rosenkrans at (507) 453-3519 or nolan.rosenkrans@lee.net.
