Ames City Staff: Transform Roosevelt and Edwards School Sites Into City Parks

City staff recommend that the City of Ames transform portions of Edwards and Roosevelt elementary school sites into recreational parks, according to a report submitted to the Ames City Council.

The City Council asked staff to review former school buildings being offered for sale by the Ames Community School District for possible city use, which staff determined would not be feasible but they would like to turn portions of two of the properties into parks, according to a report the council will receive at its council meeting Tuesday.

Staff looked at the former middle school, Edwards Elementary school, which will be replaced by a new school on Miller Avenue, Roosevelt Elementary school, which closed in 2005 and Wilson-Beardsher, which the district uses to house its technology department. All buildings and sites are currently for sale.

Staff said in the report that they have no interest in pursuing the buildings for city use because of their location in single-family neighborhoods, current configurations and because of the amount of money it would take to convert the buildings to useable space.

Staff said they would like to express support in transforming portions of the Roosevelt and Edwards sites into schools despite challenging financial times, the report said.

“Because of the challenging financial times we find ourselves in, City staff traditionally has been hesitant to add smaller neighborhood parks which are more costly to maintain within our parks system. However, with the recent decision by the Ames Community School Board to dispose of a number of elementary schools, staff believes this is an important opportunity for the City to step up to support the impacted residents as these important amenities are removed from their neighborhoods. This staff recommendation seems appropriate since elementary schools historically have doubled as neighborhood parks during non-school hours,” the report said.

City staff said they would like the district donate the park property free, clear it of any structures and seed the sites with grass if necessary. The staff have not set any limits on land size for the parks and said it would be up to the school board to decide what to donate.

The City Council would have the ultimate say on whether or not the land could be developed as city parks, the report said.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Ames City Hall, 515 Clark Ave.