By Bonita Wilborn
On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, the Mentone Town Council held a work session to discuss plans for the historic Moon Lake School building.
Dr. Bill Berry, a former principal of Moon Lake and active citizen of Mentone, was on the agenda at the work session. He presented plans, suggested various committees, and discussed future endeavors that could bring income to the Mentone area via the vacant Moon Lake School building.
Since Moon Lake School has long been an asset to the community, forming a Moon Lake Adaptive Reuse Committee was Berry’s first priority. He explained that reuse means the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than for which it was originally designed.
He discussed the possibilities ranging from hosting festivals at the site to possibly renting out various parts of the building as office space and reviving the Moon Lake Harvest Festival.
Mentone Council member John Paul Verdon agreed with Berry’s proposal of putting the building to good use but voiced concerns about it “bleeding the town dry”.
More discussion followed about the condition of the school building and that certain parts require some repair for issues with electrical, floors, and walls.
During his presentation, Berry suggested four different sub-committees which work under the Moon Lake Adaptive Reuse Committee: Community Involvement Advisory Committee, Facility Use Advisory Committee, Finance Advisory Committee, and Maintenance and Improvement Advisory Committee.
Berry discussed how these four committees would help launch the school into financial sustainability by working together to create plans and events for the historic site.
Berry also discussed the three focus statements of the Moon Lake Adaptive Reuse Committee; respect and preserve, protect and promote, and nurture and ensure, and stated, “What the Moon Lake Adaptive Reuse Committee would like to see happen includes improving the natural amphitheater, building an access ramp, restoring the butterfly garden, and generally refreshing the campus.”
Berry stated that he and others have reached out to the local community and received positive feedback, with 58% of respondents stating they would volunteer regularly or occasionally, and 42% of respondents stated they would donate annually.
The Moon Lake School building and campus were formerly owned by the DeKalb County Board of Education, but after the school was closed at the end of the 2020-2021 school year, transferring ownership to the Town of Mention began and took several months to complete. Now, being faced with the building’s use and upkeep, the Mentone Town Council will take as much time as necessary to decide the building’s future outcome.