The Lewis-Palmer School District has 12 months to make a timeline decision and plan of action towards the future of its Grace Best facility.

School District 38’s Board of Education had a work session Oct. 1 where Chief Business Officer Brett Ridgway and Director of Planning-Facilities-Grounds Melissa Andrews presented information and results from a recent capacity study of district-wide facilities. Among the presentations was a report on its Grace Best Elementary School facility in downtown Monument as it recently received a verbal mandate from the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District (TLMFPD).

Upon performing its 2024 annual fire inspection the fire department found five aspects of the building which negate International Fire Code. The fire department has given D38 the opportunity to have a plan to get remaining students out of the building within the next 12-months. Andrews said the fire chief wants to see the district make updates to the building with photograph documentation, to see progress or at least it has a plan to submit to him before the next annual inspection.

“He wants us to do what’s best for the education and looking at the space, he does not feel that its condition is what’s best for students,” Andrews said.

The board was presented with four options for the future of Grace Best, as well as projected costs for each. Among the options was to execute a plan in accordance with the critical findings proposed by KPE Architecture and Engineering in 2020. Anticipated cost was listed above $12.7 million.

Another option was to demolish the entire building and rebuild from the ground up at a cost of more than $42.6 million. The lowest-cost option was to simply demolish the structure for approximately $1.6 million. A fourth option was to demolish only the oldest part of the Grace Best facility, 65 years old, and renovate its newer portion which was added in the 1980’s. This was also approved as a resolution by the Board of Education on June 14, 2021.

“We work very hard to try to make our facilities safe from a physical security standpoint, and it appears that this particular structure is not safe from a fire security standpoint,” Board Treasurer Ron Schwarz said. In response, D38 received a verification report from Hollis & Miller Architects and Nunn Construction of the building’s condition and made professional recommendations. IT also recommended demolition of the 1959 portion of the structure as well as the 1979 gymnasium, which have undergone renovations and retrofits over their lifespan.

The verification report states, “With all the recommended repairs in the 2020 report prepared by KPE along with the current district needs, we would recommend demolishing the 1959 portion of the building as it has reached the end of a serviceable life with regard to cost vs benefit.”

In addition, in regards to the gymnasium, it recommended repairing the roof and renovating the building would house the potential for undue liability on the contractor that would take on the work and would be inadvisable. The report recommended demolishing the main structure, the lean-to portion of the structure and removing all foundations and basement areas, which contains locker rooms and restroom facilities.

The report went on to state the 1988 two-story portion of the facility is “best suited to remain,” and listed 30-year renovations of which the building would benefit. It was suggested the site of the building also receive renovations to redesign its automobile and pedestrian circulation for adequate bus and parent drop-off access.