Trustees vote to buy former stove store

Relocation will not be far for Kalispell Public Schools Auxiliary Services.

School trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with purchasing the former Open Hearth store at 365 Seventh Ave. E.N. for $385,000.

Alice Ritzman of West Venture Properties said that’s about $65 a square foot for the 6,000-square-foot building. Ritzman was a Kalispell school trustee from 2008 to 2011.

The purchase will use a combination of revenue, including $260,000 from the sale of Washington Street property where Auxiliary Services currently is located.

The rest will come from a combination of elementary and high school funds.

An additional $20,000 will be used to get the building move-in ready. Superintendent Darlene Schottle said modifications might include installation of cubicles, additional outlets, phone wiring and fiber connections.

The Open Hearth building will house the district print shop, mailroom, warehouse and shipping department. Additionally, there will be space for the Information Technology department, which currently is located in offices throughout the district.

Although there will be no additional cost to taxpayers, school districts voters will have to approve the purchase at a future election. The district plans to lease the Open Hearth building for a year before finalizing the purchase.

The decision to make an offer on the Open Hearth building came after the school board approved the sale of the Auxiliary Services Building on 514 E. Washington St. to developer Sam Baldridge of Whitefish for $260,000.

Although the Open Hearth building is 1,840 square feet smaller, Schottle and Ritzman agreed that the advantage of the Open Hearth building is an increase in vertical space for stacking supplies. The building also has three insulated rolling doors.

Trustees had discussed different options such as leasing buildings, building new or moving services to an district-owned 3,400-square-foot warehouse on Meridian Court, which would still require leasing additional space for the print shop. Trustees also talked about outsourcing services. A few studies have been conducted on that possibility, Schottle said, but the savings aren’t there.

“[With outsourcing] you wouldn’t need space, but it would be more expensive day-to-day and less timely,” Schottle said. “The district recently brought the mail room back to the district Sept. 15 to improve mode of delivery.”

Ritzman said it made more sense to buy rather than lease.

“Most investors are looking for at least an 8 percent return on investment,” Ritzman said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.