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Joint School Board No. 623/City Council Work Session <br /> Monday,June 26,2012 <br /> Page 6 <br /> School Board Member Edstrom advised that, in the recent past, there had been some prelimi- <br /> nary discussions with the City's Community Development staff on space at the Owasso site for <br /> intergenerational housing; with that housing component including shared service space on the <br /> first floor for the School District to provide outreach for students. However, Ms. Edstrom not- <br /> ed that those were only brainstorming ideas shared in the past and within that context. Ms. <br /> Edstrom stated that she would be interested in once again reviewing the results of that evalua- <br /> tion. <br /> Councilmember Pust stated that she would be remiss if she didn't mention the interest of the <br /> North Suburban Senior Council and some seniors in the community and area in that as a poten- <br /> tial site for a senior center. <br /> Chair Gogins noted that there were lots of ideas; however, viable options were needed to be <br /> developed by a group to determine the best 2-3 uses of the property. Since this is a taxpayer <br /> asset, not just a School District asset, Chair Gogins noted the need to make sure the community <br /> receives the best value possible from the site. <br /> Councilmember Willmus noted that the City's Housing and Redevelopment Authority efforts <br /> went beyond the "H" for "housing" to the "R" for redevelopment, and therefore, other avenues <br /> could and should be considered. <br /> Mayor Roe opined that it made sense to get the various stakeholders involved. <br /> Councilmember Pust opined that it was important to populate the discussion with fiscal ac- <br /> countability to educate the public and all stakeholders on what was actually possible beyond a <br /> wish list. Otherwise, Councilmember Pust noted the disappointment of the community when <br /> their ideas were sought, and then benched due to unavailable funding. <br /> School Board Member Langston opined that those making up any potential task force or group <br /> of decision-makers represent a broad perspective of the community and provide some balance <br /> in that representation. <br /> City Manager Malinen opined that it would be a priority of the City to try to preserve the ball <br /> fields along with any future use. <br /> Mayor Roe, as well as others at the table from the School Board and City Council concurred <br /> that ball fields be preserved, not necessarily in their same location, but at the same site if at all <br /> possible to ensure there was no net loss of ball fields. <br /> Councilmember Willmus noted that the Parks and Recreation Department served the same <br /> broader community as School District 623. <br /> Further discussion included the scope of a potential task force; realistic nature of the proposed <br /> timeframe, with consensus to expand that timeframe by another three (3) months to September <br /> of 2013, for completion before November of 2013. <br />