Drayton Valley resident advocates to stop demolition plans of former H.W. Pickup School

In 2018, the Eldorado Elementary School closed down, with all students merging with the Evergreen Elementary School into their new building.

The Eldorado School building was being shared with the Drayton Christian School (DCS), for Grades K-9. When the Eldorado students left, the building remained partially utilized by DCS.

In 2019, the Wild Rose School Division (WRSD) shared that not only was the Eldorado/DCS building aging, but the H. W. Pickup School had multiple structural issues with the pad underneath causing cracks in the walls from the ground expanding upwards. The Division said they spent thousands on repairs throughout the decade.

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In previous articles, Superintendent Brad Volkman shared that the town had too many schools for the declining enrollment and utilization rates, adding that government funding is on a per student basis, not by square footage of school space.

In 2020, the government announced funding for the replacement and demolition of H. W. Pickup Middle School, to be combined with the students of DCS. Both would be demolished.

As of January 2024, the Drayton Valley Christian School, for K-9 students, and H.W. Pickup Middle School, for Grade 5-8 students, have moved into the new Powerhouse Campus.

REPURPOSE BUILDING

Dressler, an industry professional in fluid and waste materials management, believes the H. W. Pickup School building can be repaired and repurposed.

“I would see the upscale of this building being used as a detox centre for west central Alberta, combined with a number of different facets,” he said. “A trades training area or school for people that are the working poor, the man who can buy food for his family, but he can’t buy a car; he can buy food for his family, but he can’t afford a home. It restores their self-esteem and gives them a re-launch. It’s not a hand-out, it’s a hand-up.”

Wild Rose School Division Deputy Superintendent Greg Wedman says the school was scheduled for demolition due to several issues, primarily due to the soil.

Brendan Procé, Director of Communications for Alberta Infrastructure, said new publicly funded schools are designed for a 75-year lifespan; but the former H.W. Pickup School building was built by the Wildrose School Division.

Neither Wedman nor Procé would elaborate on what those issues were though.

Dressler says when he reached out to the Division for the soil report, he was met with resistance.

Wedman says the geotechnical report is only available through proper channels such as a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) request. However, Dressler notes this process will take too long as the demolition is scheduled for this Spring.

Dressler raised concerns about the lack of fiscal responsibility, claiming structural materials like windows, and other objects like monitors and LED lights, were crushed during demolition of the Eldorado school building.

“That’s your and my tax dollars that they’re burning,” he said.

When asked about salvage recovery efforts, Wedman says the Division took a number of steps to salvage items not taken to the new campus.

“First, other schools within WRSD were able to salvage items that they could use at their schools. We also worked with Black Gold School Division to allow them to salvage items.

“We also opened up both the HW Pickup and Eldorado buildings for staff to salvage ‘loose items’, meaning items that were not attached to the building. WRSD facilities also removed fixed and mechanical items that were usable elsewhere in the division. After that, the buildings were turned over to the demolition contractor who has their own salvage contractor.”

Finally, the Division confirmed Dressler’s claims that the new Powerhouse building already has minor leaks in the gymnasium.

“As with any new building, there are growing pains and initial issues. These types of issues are covered by warranty and the builder is ensuring that they are getting fixed,” says Wedman.

Dressler claims he already has the support of an investor interested in salvaging the H.W. Pickup School building and is planning to start a petition.

“I would also put out a plea for some legal support filing a court injunction. I think that has to happen in order to squash this or pause it at least. My issue is time right now,” he says, adding it would save the Division in demolition costs.

Procé says the government remains committed to completing the project as planned and disposal of the site would require the approval of the Division and the Town, as owners of the land, as well as Alberta Education.

When asked if a court injunction was required to halt the demolition process, Procé says the provincial government remains committed to the demolition plans.

“We’re unable to speculate on hypothetical actions against the project. We remain committed to completing the project as planned,” he said.

Once the school is demolished, the site will be turned over to the Town. The Town said they are unable to provide comment on the land’s dollar value and future plans.

Alberta Education released the same statement as Alberta Infrastructure.

BigWestCounty reached out to Krawford Construction regarding demolition, and Group 2 Architecture and Marshall-Lee Construction Corp regarding the H.W. Pickup School project. All did not respond back in time for publishing.

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by Alessia Proietti and Nic Fata

Drayton Valley resident advocates to stop demolition plans of former H.W. Pickup School

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