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Kuna board weighs sale of Fourth Street Gym and three reuse options, requests longer vacate timeline
Summary
Board reviewed a city purchase offer for Fourth Street Gym and detailed three options — renovate at Kuna Middle School, refurbish an old farmhouse, or retain and repair the gym — and directed staff to seek a longer vacate timeline (board prefers five years).
The Kuna Joint District board reviewed ongoing talks with the city about the possible sale of Fourth Street Gym and discussed three staff-presented options for district facilities if the sale proceeds.
Staff summarized the city's verbal proposal: a purchase price of $1.88 million, an agreement that the district would receive the appraised value (reported around $1.7 million) with the difference applied to closing costs, and a use-agreement in which parts of the building would be occupied by the district at $1,500 per month while the city owns the property. Board members said the primary negotiation issue is the schedule for the district to vacate — the city initially suggested a shorter timeline and staff recommended the district seek up to five years to relocate operations.
Staff presented three options if the board approves a sale. Option A would renovate and repurpose classroom and warehouse space at Kuna Middle School and build a relatively small new office/training addition; the architect-target budget was described in the $1.4–$1.5 million range, with an additional $60,000–$90,000 for renovating existing rooms. Option B would renovate an on-site older farmhouse for technology offices and storage tied to the district's ABM custodial contract; staff flagged potential code, fire suppression and HVAC upgrades and said the house is currently used for storage and three offices. Option C keeps the gym and requires immediate capital work (roof, bathrooms, accessibility, security) and longer-term projects (parking, floor refinishing, windows, mold remediation); staff cited rough estimates for roof and bathroom work around $150,000–$200,000.
Board members discussed prior private offers (board members referenced offers in the low hundreds of thousands from local organizations) and the possibility of a partnership with local basketball clubs to offset repairs. Several trustees emphasized the district benefit of using sale proceeds to fund a new, more efficient office facility and the community benefit of the city operating the building as a community center; others stressed the gym's liability and ongoing maintenance costs if retained.
The board agreed the next step is to ask the city whether it will accept a longer vacate period (board members said five years would be preferable) and to return with clarification on appraisal numbers, precise timeline options and potential contract language clarifying who pays legal fees and whether a real-estate agent will be used.
No formal sale was approved; the discussion concluded with direction for staff to continue negotiations and to report back to the board.
