District 56, Martha Dendy association, obtain city property in Tuesday meeting
Following an executive session, council first voted to convey, free of charge, the Martha Dendy School property to the non-profit organization, the Martha Dendy Community Center, a 501(c)3 which plans to renovate the building for a variety of educational purposes.
“It includes the school and the parking lot, and the basketball courts behind the school,” said Clinton City Manager Bill Ed Cannon.
The parcel does not include the city’s Martha Dendy Park, the area beside the school.
The Martha Dendy Community Center was one of the 16 projects which will be funded through the Capital Project Sales Tax which was approved in last week’s election.
Council also sold two tracts of land to District 56. One small tract is a triangle-shaped parcel between Veterans Lane and where Willard Road meets N. Adair Street, Cannon said, and it includes the former American Legion Hut.
It does not include Pinehaven Park.
The larger parcel is 24 acres which abuts the tennis courts at Clinton Middle School, and the district paid $85,000 for both parcels.
The parking area across from Clinton Middle School had already been purchased by District 56 several months ago, said District 56 Superintendent Dr. David O’Shields, and the district decided these properties would benefit the district as well.
“We have had our architects look at the building which had been the American Legion Hut and the feeling is that with a small amount of money it could be secured and turned into a space that would be useful for professional development training sessions and possibly board meetings,” O’Shields said.
Unlike other school districts which have meeting spaces included within their district offices, District 56 doesn’t have that, O’Shields said, and that building could serve several purposes.
The larger tract abuts the tennis courts and wraps around and behind Wilder Stadium.
“It provides us with a buffer to keep that area, the school and buses more secure,” O’Shields said.
