Friday, November 15, 2002
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Friday, November 15, 2002 |
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School system buys old Playtex building By JOHN
THOMPSON
The Coweta County School System will soon have all its administrative operations under one roof. The Board of Education voted Tuesday to acquire the former Playtex site on Ga. Highway 16 for use as a consolidated central office and school warehousing facility. The purchase of the 29.5-acre site and 175,000-square-foot facility will cost $1.6 million, on terms agreed to Tuesday. The sale is contingent on completion of a phase II environmental study. School system public information officer Dean Jackson said the system has been wanting to consolidate its operations for a long time, and the Playtex building should be a perfect fit. The new central office and operations site will replace four smaller facilities including the old Savannah Street School office, the old Madras School site, 237 Jackson Street, 170 Werz Boulevard, and school sites now used for various support functions. The move, to take place in the summer of 2003, will bring greater efficiency and cost-saving benefits to the school system, said Board members. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity because of the availability of the property, its suitability for what the school system needs, and the current low interest rates," said board chairman Bill Covington. "We've put off renovations and improvements at our current support facilities because we've known for a long time that a facility like this is needed. There's not another facility like this in the county." "We are currently operating from four separate facilities and are faced with the necessity of purchasing a fifth, fire-proof building in order to house student and employee records, as required by new state laws," said Covington. "This meets that need, and is going to benefit the school system through economic efficiency and operational efficiency. It's crucial that we operate as a single entity in the school system and not four separate ones." "The Development Authority is very pleased with this project, both because of what it can do for our school system and what it does from economic development point of view," said Mike Barber, Chairman of the Coweta County Development Authority. "The purchase of the Playtex property, rather than adding to or refurbishing current administrative properties ... I think is the best long-term option for the Board of Education, and the timing is very good" in light of low interest rates and the price of the property, said Barber. Also, said Barber, the move will utilize a building that has been on the market for some time "and make it a positive for Coweta County ... it will free up and return to the tax rolls several smaller buildings that will be an economic asset for the community, and the sale of those buildings will retire debt incurred in purchasing Playtex. That is a big positive for Coweta County." The purchase and conversion of the facility will be financed by a lease-purchase agreement with the Coweta County Development Authority, similar to that used to finance the construction of Smokey Road Middle School five years ago. The 20-year lease purchase will be financed from general revenues, and will be supplemented or covered over time with the sale of the other four properties. Money from the sale of the existing school administrative properties will be applied to recall of the lease-purchase certificates as the sales occur. The lease-purchase agreement does not obligate Coweta County government or the Development Authority for payment of the lease purchase. The use of lease-purchase through the Development Authority provides tremendous savings to Coweta County taxpayers. Not only are interest rates at a historic low, but financing through the development authority provides a cut in even those rates. "This is a positive for Coweta County and the school system," said Superintendent Peggy Connell. "Putting staff together at one location and having all of our services for teachers and citizens in one place is important. And more than that, this move is about planning for the next 20 years for our school system." The new site will also allow ample warehouse and operations space and proper space for records retention. It is also proximate to the school system's bus garage.
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