By Larry Coonrod, Lebanon Express writer | Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 12:00 am
The 98 year-old Reed School will get a new lease on life if the plan of a Lebanon couple to move it to their farm is approved by the Lebanon School Board.
Brian O'Driscoll of Forest Grove asked the school board at its July 7 meeting for financial assistance equal to the amount the district would spend to demolish the school, which is located on Berlin Road next to Hamilton Creek School.
Brian O'Driscoll grew up on a his family's farm off of Berlin Road and attended classes at Reed School as a child.
O'Driscoll and his wife Michelle are moving to Lebanon to start a blueberry farm on the family's Springbank Farm property.
They want to restore the school and use it to attract customers to their farm stand and to hold classes.
"We envision using the school as a farm camp for children," Brian O'Driscoll told the school board.
Reed School was built in 1910 and measures about 1,000 square feet. It was used by the district until the early 1990s. Several years ago, when the district considered tearing the building down, a group formed to repair it, but were unsuccessful in their effort.
According to figures prepared by C.R. Ogilby & Co, a building preservation and relocation firm in Portland that is consulting with the O'Driscolls, the cost to the district of tearing the building down would be $14, 800. Larry Tilford, director of facilities, said that the district's own estimate to tear down and remove the school was about $22,000.
"I like his number better," Brian O'Driscoll joked.
Despite its outward appearance, the school is "remarkably well preserved" according to the report prepared by Ogilby & Co, which estimates the cost of moving the school from its present location and restoring it to be $42,800.