Attend Keewaydin School groundbreaking June 4

Pool, part of playground to remain where they are now

by Tesha M. Christensen

The community is invited to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Keewaydin School expansion on Monday, June 4, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.

With this $16 million addition, Keewaydin, the upper campus of Lake Nokomis Community School, will double its space.

The program will last about an hour. Following several speakers, Keewaydin and Weenonah students will present their time capsule project, and the seventh and eighth graders will unveil their legacy program.

POOL AND PART OF PLAYGROUND TO REMAIN

The addition will be placed to the south of the existing building, but it will not go as far south as it was initially presented in January. This means that the K-5 playground structure on the west side and the wading pool will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Given the remaining 20-year lifespan of the pool and the $500,000 tab of replacing it, the steering committee worked hard to reduce the foot plan of the building in order to save it, said Doug Walter, who represented the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) on the construction steering committee.

However, it is not yet known whether the pool can be used during the construction project this summer. The pool’s location is about 30 feet from the south edge of the new addition, and will be very close to the construction staging area, stated Walter. A six-to-eight-foot-high fence would need to be erected around it during construction, and to provide a pathway to the pool. Because of its close proximity to the construction area, the pool will need frequent cleaning. The cost to do this work is not yet known, but estimates range from $40,000 to $230,000 to save the pool.

“It is the district’s intent to enable the playground and pool to remain open during construction,” said MPS Capital Planning and Project Development Manager David Richards.

“This will likely be relatively easy with the playground, as it is closer to the street and probably less affected by adjacent construction activities,” Richards added. “A greater tolerance for uncertainty may be necessary regarding keeping the pool open, as Park Board staff will need to evaluate the cumulative effect of construction activities on pool ambiance, pool use, pool maintenance and other operational factors.”

The swings, tot lot and basketball court will be removed, but leaving the K-5 playground equipment and wading pool in place will give the park department time to obtain funds for moving the pool and playground to its own property on the east side of the school.

The parks department has been working with the community to create a new master plan for Keewaydin Park. Following public comment in March, the plan was modified. This updated plan will be presented to the public sometime in July, and then go to the Park Board for approval.

“Prior to school being out for the summer, we will also be conducting a parking capacity analysis to address concerns raised by a few residents about how the change in the park may impact parking in the neighborhood,” said Minneapolis Park Board Planner Jennifer Ringold.

Park staff also plan to solicit input prior to the larger community meeting regarding the types of playground equipment community members would like to see at the park.

One of the ballfields will likely serve as a staging area during the construction project. It will need to be rebuilt afterwards.

DETAILS ON NEW BUILDING

The 42,000-square-foot addition will contain eight new classrooms, a music room, two computer labs, lunch room, kitchen, media center and a full-size gymnasium with 100 seats, pointed out Keewaydin Principal Jane Ellis. The new auditorium will seat over 300 adults in tiered seats.

The entire project is on schedule, noted Ellis.

Bids on the foundation package were due May 31, and will be reviewed by the school board on June 12. Construction will begin 10 days later.

Instead of drilling 90 feet into the ground, the school district has decided to use a Geopier foundation system, according to MSP employee Donald Bielinski. Geopier is a ground improvement method using soil replacement technology to strengthen soft soil with stiff rock columns constructed by heavy equipment crowd and vertical impact ramming that prestrains and prestresses the soil.

The second bid phase will include the rest of the building. Those bids will be approved by the school board in late July/early August.

Richards believes this is a desirable time to solicit bids for a construction project because the construction market has been depressed for so long. “We’re hoping that will enhance competition and interest,” he said.

One of the exciting things about this new addition is that it will not only be great for students, but the community will be able to use it, as well, pointed out Walter. The auditorium, gym, and kitchenette can be accessed by the public from the south side of the building. While there is a community building at Keewaydin Park, it has only a multi-use space and not the full-size gym the addition will include.

At its final meeting in May, the Keewaydin steering committee discussed whether to widen the lobby area between the old and the new sections of the building by two feet in order to create a larger gathering space, noted Walter. In the current plan 18 feet is allocated for the lobby. The desire to widen it has been discussed since the school plan was first unveiled. However, because bids have already been solicited for the foundation part of the construction project, the group decided to leave things are they are, said Walter.

Members also considered whether to erect a motorized partition in the gymnasium now or later. Because the school currently has only one gym teacher, the group decided to hold off spending money on the folding partition now.

The committee also prioritized items it would like to add back onto the plan if bids come in favorably later this summer. Among the items on the list are display cases, signs, benches and floor materials.

“The original goals we started with were the goals we ended with,” Keewaydin Principal Jane Ellis said, adding that the steering committee was a cohesive group throughout the entire planning process.

“It’s been a pleasure to be part of such an amazing group of dedicated parents, MPS staff, and community members,” said steering committee member Jean Hutchinson Legler. “RSP was great to work with. Kudos also to NENA for their support. As a parent and community member, it is awesome to see MPS invest in Lake Nokomis Community School - Keewaydin Campus.”

Walter pointed out that with this project, Minneapolis Public Schools is investing in the first new facility in south Minneapolis in decades. When the project is complete next year, “This area will have one of the nicest middle schools anywhere in south Minneapolis,” said Walter.

The effort of staff and community members was recognized by NENA during its annual meeting in May. It presented the Best of Nokomis Award to Lake Nokomis parents and staff.

“It was very nice to have our parents and staff recognized,” said Ellis.

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Construction steering committee members:

• Tom Davidson, lead engineer,

• Sarah Dutton, Keewaydin Family Liaison, parent

• Jane Ellis, Keewaydin Campus Principal

• Stephen Flisk, Area B Superintendent

• Heather Hall, Keewaydin teacher

• Jean Hutchinson-Legler, parent

• George Jelatis, community member

• Jay Larson, parent

• Matt Lee, parent

• Lorna Wickham-Lewis, Wenonah teacher

• Elizabeth Ness, Wenonah Campus Principal

• Andrew Pritchard, Keewaydin teacher

• David Richards, MPS Facilities

• Jennifer Ringold, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

• Gina Rysdon, parent

• Doug Walter, Nokomis East Neighborhood Association

This story printed in the June 2012 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.