Country music picker Monte Mills and the Lucky Horseshoe Band will perform at the Nov. 8 Hoedown and 90th Anniversary Celebration of Morro Bay’s Morro Elementary School. Submitted photo
The purchase is complete but the work is just beginning and Morro Bay residents are invited to celebrate the saving of the town’s original elementary school as it hits an historic milestone.
The Friends of Morro Elementary, Morro Bay Rotary Club and Crye Const., are sponsoring an old-fashioned hoedown to celebrate the City’s purchase of the Morro Elementary School property and preservation of one of the town’s landmark properties.
The Hoedown is set for 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8 at Morro Elementary on Monterey Avenue.
The event will also mark Morro Elementary School’s 90th birthday and acknowledge the efforts of citizens and the City to preserve the circa-1930s historic school.
The hoedown is free to attend and will feature country-western band, Monte Mills & The Lucky Horseshoe Band. There will be tours of the school, folk dances and a hot dog lunch.
The City recently committed to completing the purchase of Morro Elementary from the San Luis Coastal School District for some $5.3 million, putting $500,000 down and has a couple of options to pay the $4.8 million balance. Escrow was supposed to close Oct. 31.
Future uses of the property are something the City and citizens will have to decide. Some have said the historic original building should become a City Hall, with auxiliary buildings remodeled for various City offices, to bring the different departments together. Right now, the majority of City Hall functions and offices are housed in three buildings on Shasta Avenue and Harbor Street.
Many want at least some of the property to be developed into affordable housing. The Friends group penciled in 100 or so “units” of affordable housing in an unofficial study of the property done before the City Council moved to go ahead with the purchase.
The City’s due diligence study of the property also identified the possibility of building some amount of affordable housing there.
Something almost everyone seems to agree on is that the large grass field behind the school remain available for recreational uses. It’s a popular spot for sports activities like youth soccer.
The hoedown is a chance for residents and taxpayers to visit the school and hear about its historic value, as well as potential future uses. Also, it’s a chance for alumni to reminisce and maybe swap stories with classmates that might also attend.
