Sunday, February 19, 2012

Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

This age-old adage has become common advice when someone offers something for free, conveying the message that a gift should be appreciated for the thought and spirit behind it.

The adage reflects the fact that examination of a horse's teeth can roughly determine its age and health. It signals that if the horse is free, the recipient shouldn't nitpick about its age, health or other features.

However, common sense suggests that there are situations where something that initially appears to be free can turn out to be a money pit.

So, after years of debate, it is with great interest we observe the unanimous approval by both the Monroe County School Board and the Key West City Commission of a memorandum of understanding on the joint use of the Glynn Archer school property.

A snapshot of the agreement, subject to final approval, finds the School District freely handing over the 1920s-era building to the city in 2013 in exchange for a few conditions, such as bus parking on city-owned Stock Island property, office space, shared use of the auditorium facilities and other details such as retention of a historic mural and the school's name.

The School District also retains two buildings and parking on the site for its use.

This joint agreement is a dramatic departure from when we last witnessed these two entities waging a war of words over the construction of the new Horace O'Bryant School.

Undoubtedly this change of tone is welcome news to the 70.5 percent of the voters who in 2010 authorized the city to move forward with these negotiations.

In the past we commended Mayor Craig Cates, who is spearheading this effort, for his initial goal of reducing costs of a new City Hall. We trust overall cost-savings for taxpayers remain his top priority as this process moves forward.

We commend the School Board for such an attractive price tag on a building they valued at about $6 million a couple of years ago.

And we also commend the majority of the city commissioners who qualified their recent vote with concerns of the true costs of restoring the building into a modern, functioning City Hall.

These commissioners recognize that the devil is in the details of this agreement -- or to follow today's metaphor, in the horse's mouth.

In 2010, an engineering review of the building revealed the presence of asbestos and lead paint, and an architectural estimate for restoration exceeded $13 million.

No doubt there will be new debates as to how much to spend and on what.

These debates will be complicated by the fact that the building is historic, and therefore renovations are strictly controlled -- and can be very expensive.

Issues include whether the Glynn Archer building can be restored to the same standards of the proposed new construction on Angela Street.

Should it be fortified to a 170 mph wind load so it can house the Emergency Management Center? Or renovated to be as energy efficient as a modern building?

And then there is the concern of neighborhood congestion, as the traffic pattern will change from school use and summers off to year-round uses, ongoing late evening meetings and an increase demand for parking.

We are encouraged by the shared use that may result in potential cost saving to taxpayers in both School District and city taxes.

However, we urge city officials to be transparent as to total cost and planned use of both the Angela Street location and Glynn Archer building -- prior to riding this horse into the barn.

-- The Citizen