Although no vote was taken on Monday, the Jefferson City Board of Education gave its tacit consent to a proposal to study whether district-owned property would work as a suitable location for the Special Olympics Missouri Training for Life campus.
Located east of Misosuri 179, the property was originally purchased in the fall of 2012 as the site for a second high school.
"We've been asked to facilitate discussions on an opportunity that would bring significant economic impact to our area," Randy Allen, president and CEO for the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, told the board. The project involves attempting to lure (the Special Olympics training center) to Jefferson City."
Although it is based in Jefferson City now, the Special Olympics organization has plans to relocate to a site south of Columbia.
"The idea would be to look at the feasibility of combining the training-for-life facility and the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation multipurpose building," he explained shortly after giving a similar presentation to the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission..
By sharing facilities, the various civic groups not only might save on initial construction, they also may see long-term efficiencies.
Allen called the Special Olympics Missouri project an "ambitious statewide project" that would bring a steady stream of visitors to Jefferson City.
"So I ask you tonight: Would the Jefferson City Public Schools be willing to allow the chamber to study this idea to see if a portion of that site would work for a potential project in cooperation with a future school project?" he said. "The goal would be to identify a potential benefit to all parties."
He noted parking lots and playing fields could be shared. Special Olympics would benefit by avoiding the cost of constructing a multipurpose building of their own.
He noted only Chamber assets - not school district resources - would be used to study the idea. He estimated it would take about two months to complete the work.
"This is a chamber initiative," he said. "We are the ones trying to drive this and see if we can make anything happen."
Allen said the request likely would use, at most, 20 of the 118 acres the district purchased along Highway 179.
The board didn't take any formal action at its regularly scheduled meeting Monday night. But individual members indicated their assent and no one expressed any opposition to the request.
Board of Education President Dennis Nickelson noted the district's Long Range Facilities Planning Committee (LRFPC) has not finished its own work yet.
"No action was necessary," Nickelson said. "Once something is real, then we can take action. But there's nothing wrong with finding out if it is feasible. And, keeping Special Olympics in Jefferson City would be a good thing for our community."
Superintendent Brian Mitchell said he would inform the LRFPC via an e-mail soon. Allen - who serves on the group - said he would make a presentation to the committee at a meeting later this month.