March 28, 2024

Lincoln School sold

Lincoln School, and the property located at 1001 W. Jefferson St., was approved for sale to Creston resident Karen Leonard for $2,500 during Tuesday evening’s regular Creston City Council meeting.

Leonard, the director of Mount Ayr-based Circle of Life Rehabilitation Services, plans to use the building and property as office space, space for day programs, space for three residential apartments and potentially an eventual crisis-bed for patients.

Circle of Life Rehabilitation Services is a for-profit organization thats goal is “to educate, empower and to inspire those who have a physical or mental disability.”

Circle of Life currently operates homes and apartments for clients in Mount Ayr, Osceola and Creston, with 24-hour staff supervision.

Much of the organization’s funding comes from Medicaid. Leonard said Circle of Life’s referrals come from all over the state.

“We feel that the program we’re offering is going to not only do well for the community and the individuals that we serve,” Leonard told the council, “but also in the employment that we’ll provide.

“I just the think the school is going to bring a lot of good opportunities,” Leonard continued. “To keep our individuals busy, and happy, and to learn their daily living skills so eventually they can move on.”

Leonard expects close to 50 new employees to eventually be opened up for the community as a result of acquiring the building, which Leonard hopes to renovate and open for business in seven months’ time.

Leonard told the council she will not be borrowing money for the renovations. She also said the school’s roof and windows would be her first priority.

“We have a lot of family support,” said Leonard. “We can purchase things at cost to upgrade the building. We also have a lot of grants that we can apply for. ... My husband has been in construction for 30 years, so he’s going to help a lot.”

After a public hearing in which several community members spoke both for and against the sale, the resolution to approve the sale was passed on a 4-3 vote by the council.

The mood of the council was generally positive toward the sale, but those voting against it — Dr. Gabe Carroll, Terry Freeman and Brian Davis — cited a desire for more information before moving forward.

“As far as my concern with selling the school,” explained Carroll, “we just don’t want it back — ever. So I guess our main discernment is [if it’s] something that looks like a viable business plan. ... Before we make our decision, I would like to see something as far as the scope of work that needs to be done, and maybe an estimate of at least the materials cost, so we have an idea.

“That’s the only concern I’ve heard brought up by anyone that has any problem with selling the school,” Carroll continued. “We want to know, for sure, before we go forward with it, there’s some financial backing and support, a plan with what’s going to happen structurally and that kind of thing.”

Additionally, after some concern was raised by several attendees, the council did also verify with City Administrator Mike Taylor that the school would remain a bus stop for the neighborhood after the sale.

“We’re not going to move in and make tons of changes — we don’t want the community to be upset,” said Leonard. “We would rather do anything at your request to keep things [running] smoothly.”