Don't expect a quick response from City of Decorah officials to the Decorah School Board's proposal for a new elementary school site

The site plan of the proposed new elementary school

Members of the Decorah Parks and Recreation Board got a chance Thursday night to meet with Mayor Lorraine Borowski to discuss the Decorah School Board's request that the city sell the school district the city softball diamond property.

School district officials want to build a new elementary school on the site.  But Park Board members and the mayor agreed the community needs to take the time necessary to "get it right."  "Visioning is needed," the mayor told board members.

Board members agreed.  "You don't want a Band-Aid approach," said Park Board chair Rich Gaard.  Parks Board members are concerned about whether the city would lose the only remaining green space in the downtown area.  The newest proposal from school officials calls for tearing down the present John Cline School building after a new school is built and turning it into green space, but Parks Board member Shirley Vermace said the area would actually be a playground eight hours a day from August through May.

Borowski says city council members haven't had a chance to discuss the school district's proposal, in part because other issues such as a proposed municipal electric utility have taken up so much time.  She wants to take the time to have a comprehensive conversation that goes beyond the new elementary school.  "Our needs are growing," she says, adding there are "a lot of moving parts" that need to be considered.