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WILKES-BARRE — Is it a case of mystery acres, or much ado about nothing?

Among the many questions voiced at Monday’s Wilkes-Barre Area School Board meeting by residents opposing the consolidation of two high schools, one involved an apparent discrepancy in the size of district-owned land at Coughlin High School, where the board wants to build a new facility.

Joanne Tenneriello asked why one district document said there are 2.4 acres at the site while another document submitted to the state sized it at 3.7 acres.

Board Vice-President Joe Caffrey, who chaired the meeting in the absence of President Louis Elmy, said he didn’t know the reason for the difference. Solicitor Ray Wendolowski likewise conceded he didn’t have an explanation, but speculated that the smaller acreage was the lot the building stands on, while the larger number included an adjacent field owned by the district.

In an effort to address rumors about the district secretly purchasing other land near Coughlin, Wendolowski stressed the district is not planning to buy any more property.

So where did the extra acres come from? County records show they were always there.

The 2.4 acre number was cited in a feasibility study compiled by four firms hired as the district’s “design team.” The same team was responsible for completing and filing paperwork with the state offering details about the construction proposal in hopes of getting reimbursement for the estimated $100 million cost. It was those state documents that listed the 3.7 acres.

County records show the district owns three separate parcels at the Washington Street site: The lot the current school sits on, an adjacent field that stretches to Union Street and a parking lot across the street from the field, where a sign on chain-link fence notes it is Wilkes-Barre Area School District property.

Deed records list the lot for the school at just under 2.3 acres. The adjacent field is listed at just under one acre, while the parking lot is slightly more than half an acre. Combined, the district-owned property is 3.78 acres.

While the current school occupies 2.3 acres, from the start the proposal for a new building at that site expanded it to the corner, eliminating the fields.

The board’s plan calls for merging ninth through 12th grades of Meyers and Coughlin in a new school at the Coughlin site. Kistler Elementary school next to Meyers would be expanded to hold seventh and eighth grade students at Meyers. There are no immediate plans for the Meyers building, though the district will keep the stadium for district use.

The district is also renovating the former Mackin Elementary school for high school students, though the board has said that may be temporary during construction of the high school, and that the building could become an elementary school.

Buying more land

While Wendolowski insisted Monday that there are no plans to buy more property at the Coughlin site, the topic has come up. Board Member John Quinn previously said one advantage to building a new school there rather than where Meyers High School stands was the availability of nearby property.

Quinn brought the issue up again during Monday’s debate, noting the Times Leader building and parking lot, which are next to Coughlin and extend from Washington to Main Street, is up for sale. Staff at the newspaper are eventually relocating to the paper’s other building on Market Street, which houses the printing press.

Quinn suggested that the Times Leader building could be used for administrative offices, currently housed at 730 South Main Street, and possibly for classrooms.

Two other buildings in the block have for sale signs up, though neither property is adjacent to the district-owned lots: The Polish Union Building spanning 53-59 N. Main St., and the nearby former home of III Guys Pizza.

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania occupies a large, nine-story building immediately behind the high school, and the company owns a smaller building sandwiched between the school and Around Town Bicycles, which itself is connected to Main Street via a driveway along Acme Lock. Blue Cross recently became part of Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and while the merger agreement promises to keep all current employees for 18 months, the fate of the local workforce is uncertain beyond that.

The only other property connecting to district land is a strip used as a parking lot owned by Thom Greco, who also owns the building at the corner of North Main and East Union where Heat Bar and Nightclub operates. Greco also owns some property across the street from Coughlin, county records show.

Assessed value

Several audience members brought up another frequent argument critics contend works against building at the Coughlin site: The downtown Wilkes-Barre location should be an easier and more profitable sell than the large Meyers property in south Wilkes-Barre.

The two sites differ dramatically in size. County records list the Meyers location along Carey Avenue as a single lot covering 7.73 acres, more than double the size of the three Washington Street lots owned by the district.

Total assessed value for both sites are similarly disparate. The three lots on Washington Street are assessed at a combined $8.75 million, while the Meyers site is $14.4 million. But a look at the land value sans any buildings paints a different financial picture.

Market value for the Meyers land is $773,000. Though less than one-third the size, the 2.3 acre lot where Coughlin stands is, by itself, assessed at $920,000. Add the two other district-owned properties on Washington Street and the land value nudges up to $975,510.

The price of land, and the work needed to build on it, was a key factor for eliminating other options that had been considered prior to the feasibility study, Caffrey said in response to questions about building a new school in the flood plain. The district had asked the design team to look at five locations for a new building as well as the two existing high school sites.

Two locations outside the flood plain that had been considered would have to be purchased and would require extensive preparation, Caffrey said, costing up to $15 million “before we put a shovel in the ground.”

Meyers building

Few of those who spoke called for saving the Meyer’s building, stressing instead the need for smaller community schools and for keeping a school in South Wilkes-Barre. Robert Holden said he was a Meyers graduate but that “the building means nothing to me.” He then rattled off a list of studies he said show students are better served by small, community schools.

It was an argument repeated by others, and Superintendent Bernard Prevuznak jumped in more than once to voice agreement with the concept while insisting a three high school system can’t be financially supported.

“We all agree community high schools are better,” Prevuznak said. “That’s not the issue.”

He warned that the district had to stabilize finances or risk the fate of Chester Upland School District in Delaware County. Following years of recurring financial problems, that district fell under state influence in 2012, when then Gov. Tom Corbett appointed a Chief Recovery Officer. While there has been improvement, recent reports say the district is still grappling with a $24 million structural deficit.

Questions have been raised about the amount of land available for a new school proposed at the site of the current Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre. A review of court records shows the district owns three parcels with a total of 3.7 acres at the site, including the lot the school sits on and the adjacent field seen here.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_coughlinhighschool.jpg.optimal.jpgQuestions have been raised about the amount of land available for a new school proposed at the site of the current Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre. A review of court records shows the district owns three parcels with a total of 3.7 acres at the site, including the lot the school sits on and the adjacent field seen here. Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader

By Mark Guydish

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Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish