District Planning Committee Looks At Facilities

The District Facilities Planning Committee has a long road ahead of it and plenty of decisions to make regarding the buildings owned by the Christian County School Board. Members met Monday night with architect Keith Sharp to talk about what upgrades the facilities need. Sharp told the committee that three buildings have reached the end of their useful lives and three more are very close.

Hopkinsville High School, the Learning Center, and the Bus Garage have all reached the end of their useful lives, while Belmont, Holiday, and Lacy are ranked as having eight percent left. He adds the ranking from 1 to 5 is to help the members weigh options.

But the useful life is not necessarily reflected in the ranking as Belmont ranked a 3, which puts it in the middle of the pack. Only one building was ranked a five and that was the Learning Center. However, seven buildings-Holiday, Lacy, Hopkinsville Middle, Christian County High, Hopkinsville High, the maintenance building and the bus garage-ranked a four, which means they are in need of major repairs. Sharp says the district has some major decisions ahead.

Other key issues to take into consideration for the committee, Keith says, are taxation, utilization and condition of facilities, the strategies going forward for future construction, and the available land space. The District Facilities Planning Committee is in charge of making a plan for the next four years that will serve as the guidelines for repairs and replacements around the district.