The white barn, located at 101 Rocket Drive in Slippery Rock Township, features bright red lettering that declares “This is Rocket Territory” and serves as an unheated storage space for groundskeeping equipment and materials. Submitted Photo

The barn alerting travelers that they are in “Rocket Territory” is more than just a billboard for Slippery Rock Area School District. To people like David Smith, a 1978 graduate of Slippery Rock Area High School, the entire structure is a landmark of the school community.

A report compiled by Barber & Hoffman, a structural engineering firm based in Cranberry Township, recommended structural bracing for the barn “as soon as possible.” The report said use of the barn should be discontinued if repairs are not made, because of framing deterioration, lateral foundation movement and an improper framing modification.

Smith, a member of the school district’s barn committee, said Monday, June 24, at a school board meeting that he and students of Slippery Rock University have identified four items that would be necessary to repair the barn. The necessary projects, he said, include a roof replacement, drain maintenance, repairing the northeastern wall and a new paint job. Smith estimated Monday it would cost about $60,000 to $80,000 to repair the barn.

Smith also said the committee had weighed the possibility of using the building for agricultural education or aquaponics. However, the first priority of the committee was to ensure the barn could be salvaged.

“Our goal right now is to make this a viable structure for 50 years,” Smith said. “Right now what we’re trying to accomplish is salvage a historic landmark that is a value to the community. A lot of people want to see it salvaged.”

Smith said the committee would be ready to put those four projects out to bid as soon as the school board approved bid packages. However, members of the board questioned the long-term feasibility of repairing the barn and asked what it would be used for following its repair.

Board member Greg Schiller said because it is a barn, the structure has limited use. Light streams through every crevasse in the building, and even more air flows through the panels. He said the cost of upkeep on the building would also increase over time.

“If the goal is simply to stabilize it to have effectively a four-sided billboard there, that’s one thing,” Schiller said. “If the goal is to stabilize it and make it a useful building, that’s another thing, and I think that really needs to be identified as far as what your goal is with this.”

Following comments from school board members, Smith argued it would cost more to demolish the barn and remove it than it would to repair it. The financial cost would also be nothing compared to the sentimental value the building holds, Smith also said.

Smith said the sentimental value of the barn is demonstrated by the number of people he saw taking photos in front of it during prom and graduation. While the board members didn’t make any decisions relating to the barn Monday, Smith urged them to consider the barn’s value to the community.

“It means something, more than just a billboard,” Smith said. “I saw many cap and gowns standing in front of ‘This is Rocket Territory’ barn. This is a place where alumni come back and get their picture taken.

“I would love to see us do everything we possibly can to salvage the historic landmark and make it a little more of a showpiece.”