ADRIAN — If the initial feedback Adrian Public Schools Superintendent Nate Parker has gotten is any indication, there’s a lot of support for the district’s proposal to build a new recreational facility to serve both APS students and the community as a whole.

After presenting the idea to the school board in December and holding a community steering meeting in early January, district officials held two community forums, one on Jan. 28 at the high school and one on Feb. 5 at the Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee, to explain the proposal and solicit residents’ input.

Several different locations at or near Adrian High School have been identified as possible sites for the football field-sized steel-framed building. The number of potential sites has changed as community input has come in, and now stands at four.

One is west of Springbrook Middle School, while the other three are immediately adjacent to the high school on different sides.

The most recent possibility, which was identified after the second community forum was held, would go in the current parking area near Stockford Drive and High Street.

That location addresses concerns community residents expressed about the aesthetics of having “a steel pole barn next to our traditional high school,” Parker said in a Feb. 11 interview. “It wouldn’t be what people first see.” 

The facility would provide year-round opportunities for sports, recreation and arts for the entire community, not just for the benefit of Adrian Public Schools students.

A half-turf, half-hard-floor design would accommodate a wide range of sports including soccer, tennis, pickleball, volleyball, and basketball. Other amenities would include fitness equipment and a walking track.

The district itself would benefit from having more space. Some of the teams currently don’t have adequate practice space, have to practice off-campus, or must hold practices late into the evening. The marching band also struggles to find practice times, Parker said.

An indoor facility would also add flexibility because weather wouldn’t be an issue.

Additional district-related uses could include everything from athletic tournaments to band camps to robotics competitions. Community events could also be hosted there, such as the annual community craft show which currently is spread out all over the high school but would now be all in one spot.

With the majority of APS students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, Parker said he’s eager to provide recreational opportunities for the district’s youth, outside of school itself, and the building would fill a need in the wider community for an affordable, conveniently located place for recreational activities. 

Estimates of the cost to build the new facility range from $17 million to $27 million. Operational costs would be in the neighborhood of $300,000 annually.

If the district approaches voters with a millage proposal, a .75-mill levy over 20 years would generate $27 million. An owner of a home valued at $200,000 would pay an additional $75 per year.

Parker said that from a strategic standpoint, “the time is right” for the facility, because if voters approve a bond proposal in November, it would start in 2026 and end in 2046, the same year that the district’s 2016 bond retires.

The facility would be available at no cost to APS students. Community members would be able to use it for a fee, with people from outside the school district paying more relative to those inside it since district residents would also be supporting the building’s construction with the millage.

“Our goal is not to generate a ton of revenue, it’s to cover our costs,” Parker said.

It might be, for example, that people could use the walking track for free but there would be a charge to play pickleball. 

Income would also be generated through events such as tournaments or similar large-scale uses, which would also serve to bring in people from outside the area and generate economic activity locally.

The proposed new building had its genesis in a comprehensive facilities assessment done by the district in 2024. “We wanted to make sure we were being good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars,” the superintendent said.

Community input solicited at that time indicated that space for more athletic and recreational opportunities was one of the highest priorities.

When people were asked then what they thought was lacking in terms of space and functionality, almost half the respondents said they had no concerns. But of those who did choose a concern, the biggest one, identified by more than 18 percent of those surveyed, was the lack of recreational space.

Almost 29 percent identified “additional athletic and recreational spaces” in answer to the question “If the district could add one major facility in the next five to 10 years, what would you like to see added?”

This was the second-highest response, with STEM labs garnering the highest response at more than 41 percent. The district recently announced the creation of new STEM and Career labs at the elementary schools thanks to a donation from the Mouli family.

With so much interest in more athletic/recreational space, “we felt a duty to explore it,” Parker said.

More than 40 APS staff, parents, and other community residents took part in the Jan. 28 and Feb. 5 community forums. Participants supported the general concept of building the new facility, saying there is a definite need for it for students and for the community overall, but shared a variety of concerns, including parking, traffic flow, security, staffing, and the cost for people to use the building.

Parker said in the Feb. 11 interview that out of all the community input he had received to date, whether at the two public forums or through other means including PTO meetings and a radio interview where people could call in, the reaction has been “overwhelmingly positive.”

“I haven’t found any real pushback,” he said.

What he did hear as far as community use is concerned was that the indoor track was the biggest draw, and “the pickleball idea gets great traction. So does the fitness center.”

The district’s next step was to commission a survey by the EPIC/MRA firm in order to see what the actual level of community support is. That survey will be completed by the end of March. If the results are positive, Parker said the district will engage in more community outreach in April and May.

The school board would need to approve a millage by August to get the proposal on the November ballot.

If things move ahead, Parker said people can be assured of two things: that “it is truly our goal to keep it as affordable as possible” for the community, and that the facility will be a space not just for APS students. 

“We’re committed to making sure the community can use it,” he said.