Garden City cafeteria under consideration

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November 18, 2009

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times The Cullman Times Wed Nov 18, 2009, 11:02 AM CST

CULLMAN — A new cafeteria for Garden City Elementary School is currently under consideration, though plans will not go forward until at least April 2010.

“It would be at least six months until we get started,” Cullman County Board of Education Superintendent Hank Allen said. “It is under consideration, but we’re not that far along yet.”

The budgeted cost of the cafeteria is approximately $900,000 - $1 million, Allen said.

If the project is approved, it will be funded with money from a three-year-old $11.1 million bond that also paid for expansions to Harmony School and Holly Pond Middle School in recent years. There is approximately $3 million remaining from the bond funds.

The money cannot be flexed to pay personnel or other bills and can only be used for construction.

“We have requested to flex it, but we cannot,” Allen said.

Considering recent state budget cuts and the tenuous economy, Allen said the project will not go forward until the financial situation shows some signs of improvement.

“Right now, we have put all building projects on hold until things settle down with proration,” he said. “[That project] is definitely not on the front-burner.”

The board has hired Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood to begin initial design work on the proposed 100-seat cafeteria, though a final design has not been reached.

“It’s a series of discussions before you really get to the final drawings and so forth,” Allen said.

The new cafeteria is needed because the old one is inadequate, Allen said.

“They need a new lunchroom,” Allen said. “It’s very small.”

Sheila Kretzschmar, the Garden City school board representative, said a new cafeteria should also address some safety concerns.

“The current cafeteria is so small it makes it difficult to transfer food,” she said. “It’s a miracle no one has been burned yet, transferring food to the service line.”

Even in the current budget crunch, Kretzschmar said she believes the project should be a priority.

Additions that would allow the cafeteria to serve as a multipurpose room are being considered, though Allen said a simpler approach will likely be taken.

“With the way money is, we just have to plan to try and meet the needs of the lunch room right now,” he said.

If the new cafeteria is built, the old cafeteria will be converted into much-needed classroom space, Allen said.

“That is actually where the whole idea for a new lunchroom came from,” he said. “We want to clear up more classroom space by building a new cafeteria. We would then use the old cafeteria for classrooms.”

With approximately 140 students enrolled, Garden City Elementary School is currently utilizing four portable trailers as classroom space.

* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.

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Garden City cafeteria under consideration

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