'Time is of the essence': Pine City School Board exploring relocation options for ALC

The Pine City School Board voted unanimously to issue a request for proposals regarding the relocation of the district's Area Learning Center (ALC) at Monday's meeting.

"Time is of the essence," said board member Lezlie Sauter. "Our Area Learning Center's lease with the Pine City Civic Center is going to expire at the end of July 2026, therefore starting in the fall of 2026, we need a new spot for the ALC."

The board is considering three options for alternative locations: temporarily converting the district office, renovating the Car/Truck City site, and renting space elsewhere.

"The third option was basically replicating what we did at the civic center, and is there a space we can rent using our lease levy that would work for a school to operate out of," Sauter explained.

Sauter said that plans have already been drawn up for building out Car/Truck City, and would just need a party to bid on those.

The Car/Truck City plans would be scaled down from the full project "so that it's manageable," Sauter said.

"Three different options, with three different price tags, and to be honest, three different funding sources," she said.

According to a draft of the RFP, proposals should include a realistic timeline for relocation, with a completion date of June 2026.

Sauter said the board will get a presentation about the ALC and its needs in the coming months.

"These three options we'll at least put out for proposals so that we can see what it's going to cost in each situation," she said.

Board member Wayne Gilman said it will be helpful to pinpoint what would be required for the ALC to function.

"I definitely think that when we see these courses of action, we'll look at the different ways of financing this, and we're going to do things that are going to protect the budget as much as possible," Gilman said.