Osborn Visioning Process

Many residents have wondered what will happen to the property that was formerly Osborn Elementary. Resident feedback has been sought for the future of the property.

To some, it isn’t clear what part of the property has been purchased. 

 

One common misconception is that the city has purchased the entire Osborn block.  The city has only purchased the elementary school, playground and grassy area near the playground, Christie Voos, Communications Analyst for the City of Leavenworth said. The administration building, tennis courts and little grassy area by the administration building is school district property. 

 

It hasn’t been decided yet whether the existing Osborn structure will be used or demolished. Voos could not confirm whether the playground would be preserved or renovated into something new. There are no current plans to demolish the existing Osborn building.

 

Voos said every option is still on the table and the city isn’t at the point in the visioning process where they are getting rid of options. However, the Osborn building could be used right now for community events before renovations are complete.

 

For example, Voos said, if an art teacher wanted to use the building to hold an art class for community members that could happen right now. But much about the future of the property is unknown.

 

If a rec center or other facility was created on the property, Voos couldn’t confirm whether the facilities would be free or require an admission fee. She also couldn’t answer how the projects will be funded. 

 

Voos said that the city is taking an approach of trying to find out what the community really needs before figuring out what the budget constraints are. She thinks that this is a better approach than focusing on the cost first.

 

“We feel that that is a better approach for long term needs because our community is changing and growing so fast right now. If we just looked at what we have right now, we  would shortchange those future generations,” Voos said. 

 

What will ultimately decide how the property will be used is a balance between what community members, the city council, and subject matter experts want, Voos said. The city will be looking towards all available sources of funding for the project from taxes to grants to state and federal funding but that there’s no specific funding source that they are currently looking at.

 

Currently, the city is in the running for funding through Kim Schrier, Voos said. The proposal is currently in the top two for funding proposals but the funding has not been confirmed yet. The funding would be partly used for a retractable pool cover so the city pool could operate year round.

 

It isn’t known yet whether this state funding, if received, would be used for Osborn because the fund is specifically earmarked on how it can be spent, said Voos. Besides where they will find funding, the ultimate question is what the property will be used for.

 

The most recent feedback, Voos said, is that residents want open space, a playground and a rec center. Using the property for housing was not well supported.  Many people said that they were fine with funding housing but didn’t want it to be on the Osborn property. 

 

However, the feedback for how to use the property has been very diverse. Some have suggested that the property should be entirely green space while others considered housing, Voos said. Feedback from the community has been sought multiple times since before the pandemic started from all ages, child to adult, both virtually and in person.

 

Voos said that the city still needs to outreach to the Spanish speaking community and the Wenatchee community. Currently, a survey is online for feedback for the visioning process. Many people have been commenting on what they want on social media, but that is not official and residents should fill out the official survey form.  

 

The timeline for renovating the Osborn property is another unknown. Voos could only confirm that “we will not break ground in 2021”. Many steps are involved in completing the renovation from completing the community feedback process to finding available builders.

 

The city went through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for the property which means the city requested proposals from different companies and individuals of what work they could do at the property, Voos said. 

 

Two or three companies submitted proposals, Voos said. The Stowe Development and Strategies consultant team was chosen by the residential advisory committee as the best proposal. One of the factors that must be taken into consideration in the cost of renovating the property is making sure that it is up to environmental standards

 

According to the hazardous materials survey, lead paint was found on cabinets in three rooms and many potential mercury containing light tubes were found. From this, it was recommended that the light fixtures be recycled in accordance with Washington State Department of Ecology regulations. Most places in the building did not have lead paint.

 

Asbestos was not found in the building. However, an inaccessible sealed utilidor was presumed to contain asbestos pipe insulation. In total, it was estimated that it would take $100,000 to mitigate the potential asbestos, said Voos, but it is not yet known with certainty if the utilidor has asbestos or what action needs to be taken. 

 

According to the Phase II Environmental Assessment Report, there used to be an underground storage tank with gasoline and an underground storage tank with heating oil on the property.

 

The soil from the areas where gasoline and heating oil tanks were located was analyzed and it was found that contamination was not found in the soil borings and no further action was needed. 

 

Besides the cost to mitigate environmental issues on the property, other aspects of the project seem to be up in the air. The Osborn Visioning process is ongoing and what will ultimately happen to the property is not currently known. 

 

Voos said that the surveys for the Osborn Visioning Process show more than what the Osborn property can be used for and show what the community needs are in general. She said that the city really wants to get the process of developing the property right. 

 

“I feel like the community needs to know how much we want to do it right. And they may not feel that way right now and I don't understand why, but I'm hoping to change that,” said Voos.