The fate of the multimillion-dollar Central High School expansion now lies in the hands of the Rapid City Council, and city officials are waiting to see the fine print before they sign off on a project encroaching into city park land.

“We’ve had a tremendous working relationship with the school for years, and that’ll continue,” said city council vice-president Malcom Chapman. “We’ll work that out.”

Rapid City Area Schools is relying on the council to agree their proposed gymnasium -– part of the expansion project -- is a recreational facility, and therefore, can be built on city park land. A memorandum of understanding for the gymnasium could come before the council as soon as its next meeting Dec. 7.

“Today, there’s nothing before the city council, but in big picture terms, I expect we’ll continue to do what we’ve always done and work well with the school district,” Chapman said. He participated in early discussions with the school district, but like other city officials, wouldn’t comment on particulars until the proposal reached the council.

School administrators found out two weeks ago that the land south of the high school slated for the multimillion-dollar expansion was actually city park land, a designation that severely limits development.

Under state law, public libraries, museums, art galleries and recreational facilities can be built on park land, but educational facilities cannot.

In response to the discovery, the school board approved revised plans last week to move the proposed science wing to the building’s north side, off park land, and leave the gymnasium and a parking lot to the south.

Growth Management Director Marcia Elkins said even with the change in plans, the land will need to be rezoned from flood hazard district, an action that will require both city council and planning commission approval.

The rezoning and permitting process could still be finished in time for the school district to stay on schedule and let bids in February and March, though, Elkins said.

“They don’t have to be all the way through it before they put it out to bid. It’s not unusual,” Elkins said. “They’ll be working hard, but it’s certainly possible.”

The memorandum of understanding between the city and schools would be similar to those for other joint-use facilities, including the community gyms at West and South middle schools, city attorney Jason Green said.

“Really what they need is indication from the city council that they support the concept,” Green said.

Mayor Alan Hanks hadn’t seen the details of the proposal as of Friday afternoon, but he said the request was essentially the same as that for the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center a few years ago. The ice arena expansion also crossed into floodplain zoning and city park land. But the civic center’s request to be rezoned was approved because it was considered a recreational use.

Hanks was optimistic the city council could find a way to accommodate the schools’ needs.

“It’s actually more the norm than anything else for the city and schools to work together to get the biggest bang for the citizens,” Hanks said. “This is nothing new. The schools and the city have been working together on a multitude of projects.”

Contact Emilie Rusch at 394-8453 or emilie.rusch@rapidcityjournal.com.