Flandreau School weight room to open to public

Those looking for a gym closer to home will soon have some options.
While the Colman-Egan School District prepares for an addition that will include a weight room with public access, taxpayers within the Flandreau School District will be able to hit the public schools weight room for a $50 annual fee.
The change takes effect January 1st.
The decision was made with a 5-1 vote during last weeks regularly scheduled school board meeting.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe will also be offering a small cardio and weight room facility to local tribal families and others who are IHS eligible at the start of the new year. More on the soft opening of that facility elsewhere in the Moody County Enterprise.
The topic of opening the local high school weight room has been on Flandreaus school board agenda since September, when the opportunity was asked of the board. Concerns about student safety, weight room security, care for the facility and best way to provide accessibility have all been discussed.
However, following in the footsteps of other school districts that have successfully implemented and incorporated public use into their school weight rooms, the Board, almost unanimously, cautiously voted to approve its use.
The hope is that it will lead to a healthier community and offer access to a resource so many in the local community say they feel is needed and missing.
Morgan Kontz was the only Nay vote. Board Member Adam Wiese was not present.
What the board agreed to:
Weight room users will have to register at the school office and pay the one-time fee, regardless of their start date. With that they will receive a key fob. Each fob will be numbered allowing administration to restrict a specific members access if needed.
Should a member lose their fob, a $15 fee will be charged for replacement.
Public use hours will be anytime between 6am-6pm. (check and see what weekend ended up being)
Separate hours will be established for summer break and possibly other out-of-school times.
Patrons will need to be 18 or older, no current students will be allowed during after hours times.
Board President Tom Stenger said that this can be an ongoing agenda item if it needs to be until the kinks are worked out. He suggested using social media to make any immediate updates to access, such as scheduled maintenance or any other issue that may arise.
Other items approved by the board were the hiring of Julia Griffin as the elementary evening custodian, Jennifer Harpestad as a paraprofessional, and Beau Severtson as a volunteer wrestling coach.
Severtson is currently a youth wrestling coach and long time supporter of the Flandreau wrestling program.