Firelands developing a master plan for Vermilion Road campus

HENRIETTA TWP. — Firelands won't open its new high school until next fall, but the Board of Education already is thinking 10 steps ahead. William Cook of BSHM Architects showed mock-ups Monday for how the district's Vermilion Road campus could evolve in coming years. He showed concept maps that include a new elementary school, field house, bus garage and other features. The drawings are part of Firelands' efforts to create a master plan, and are far from being set in stone. "I'm sure there will be a lot more ideas before it ever really happens," said school board member Dan Pycraft. The $23 million high school is the linchpin. Tim Rini of Greenspace Construction said Monday that brick is going up around the building. The structural steel is complete and carpenters are sealing windows so work can continue inside for the winter. Metal studs are all installed and drywall work started this week, he said. The building now has permanent power and natural gas is up and running for heat. Plumbers are running hot water lines and insulating the pipes. Fire suppression systems have been installed in about half the school. But not all is going according to plan, Rini said. "It's been tough getting materials. So far we're staying on schedule with all of that," he said. Supply chain issues are causing waits, he said. For example, it's been difficult to get all nine air handler units needed for the school. Many other items — interior doors and hardware, wood flooring for the gym, lockers and food service equipment — have been ordered. Henrietta Township does not have dedicated sewers, which means Firelands High School requires a wastewater treatment plant. Getting that work going has been "troublesome," Rini said. He expects it to start when the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency approves the permit. District Superintendent Mike Von Gunten is expecting a busy August move-in as high school teachers move into their new building and South Amherst Middle School staff move into the old high school. He has asked the Board of Education to push back the start of school to Sept. 6, which is the Tuesday after Labor Day. A vote on the 2022-23 calendar is expected in December. As a rural district, Firelands has a tradition of starting school after the Lorain County Fair ends. Delaying it further next year would allow the transition to new buildings to "be as stress-free as possible" for both employees and students, Von Gunten said. With the long-sought new high school complete, Firelands will be able to turn its attention to dream projects. Cook's concept drawings envision a future middle school wing located just north of FHS, with 25,000 square feet on each of two stories. A new L-shaped field house adjacent to Falcons Stadium could go on the far north side or on the southwest corner near the entrance. Cook said it's meant to include a weight room, lockers and potential space for indoor practices. A new lot on the northeast corner of the campus would create 215 more parking spaces, and new soccer fields have been penciled in nearby. How exactly all the pieces fit together is likely to revolve around a new bus garage. Board President Mike O'Keefe said the district can't afford to wait to build the garage — it's too important. Cook said the most likely spot for the bus garage is just north of Falcons Stadium. How Firelands will pay for the projects has yet to be decided. For years, it has been relying on the promise of millions of dollars from NEXUS pipeline property taxes — but the owners of the 256-mile-long gas line have repeatedly fought to lower their tax responsibility far below what they promised when pitching the project in 2014. Now Firelands has another problem: It must pay back property taxes collected from Camden Township-based Green Circle Growers. District Treasurer Keri Angney said Monday that the refund will be made over a two-year period, and represents a significant decrease in income in Firelands' five-year forecast. "With the numbers that are in here, it does show we could hit deficit spending this year," she said, but she framed the trend as "no big concern." Angney said because of the way state funding works, the district expected to run a deficit eventually, and is actually doing better than had been once projected. Now she is waiting to see what the Ohio Legislature's new Fair School Funding Plan formula looks like. Angney said she received "simulation" numbers from the state but expects more accurate estimates in December. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.