A discussion about a new building that school officials say would provide much-needed space at Summit Elementary School began Tuesday with an overview of plans and ended with confusion about ownership and lease agreements for the land involved in the project.
Germayne Nash, facilities director for the McComb School District, spoke on behalf of Superintendent Dr. Cederick Ellis, who had been expected to speak to the Summit Town Council, along with William McElroy, a project manager for M3A Architecture of Jackson.
McElroy said the 13,000-square foot, eight-classroom building would include classrooms with self-contained bathrooms and touchless fixtures, as well as a gymnasium with a rubberized floor and a stage.
“In the event of a future virus, it can be self contained,” he said. “This is a self-contained small school, if you will. We envision it to be a very modern facility, very easy to maintain.”
Plans also call for the development of an outdoor classroom.
“This is an attempt to practically deliver a facility that is cost effective, but one that evokes, if you will, emotion; and one that evokes loyalty and fidelity to the school, and the image is hopefully captivating,” McElroy said. “It’s a very simple building with simple approaches. We think this will be a stimulating, inspiring, transformative addition to the community.”
School officials hope to procure bids this year for the project, which could take up to a year to complete once a contract is awarded.
McElroy noted that town officials had concerns about the proposed orientation of the building on the campus, but he said the design blends in with existing school buildings.
A security checkpoint is located in a vestibule at the front of the building, and Nash said the campus will be fenced in to limit access from the public.
Fire Chief Stan McMorris said one of the buildings needs a second south-facing exit and the door needs to be reconfigured so that it opens to the outside in order to comply with fire codes.
Nash said she’s preparing construction documents for the project and asked about a lease agreement between the town, which owns some of the land surrounding the campus, and the school.
Mayor Percy Robinson said the town and school have a 99-year lease agreement that was signed Sept. 11, 2018.
“I have not seen it. Nobody’s been able to provide it to me,” Nash said.
Councilman Julius Nash said the school is trying to build on town property.
“I think the place where the school sits on, that’s different from what’s open right now,” he said. “The place where the school sits on is the school district’s. The place where they’re talking about proposing belongs to the town.”
“That’s right,” Robinson said.
Germayne Nash said the documentation needs to be resolved.
“You guys need to work that out because I have not seen any lease agreement that details any of that information. Nobody can provide it to me. I’m flying blind here,” she said, adding that the documentation Robinson presented was a council resolution, not a lease. “What you’re looking at right there is not the lease agreement.”
