West Lafayette board highlights community support for preserving Happy Hollow, approves $489,000 chiller replacement

The West Lafayette Community School Corporation board heard results of a community survey showing strong local support to preserve and reuse the Happy Hollow site and approved a construction contract to replace the facility’s failing chiller.

Mister Jones, who facilitated focus groups and surveys for the district, told the board more than 90% of respondents said they would be willing to pay for services at the site. Jones said community priorities included after-school programming with transportation, childcare, multipurpose athletic and event space and maintaining partnerships with the city parks and recreation department — specifically the pool and sledding hill. He recommended retaining current student activities where possible and developing a clear identity and multipurpose design to maximize both student value and…