For some reason, there is an attempt by various groups to convince the Planning Commission and the residents of the South Dulles District that there are better sites than the Lenah property for a high school and a middle school. One of the groups promotes community schools ~~ as long as they're not in their community. Critics are ignoring that our proposal is 20% below the amount appropriated for the school and that our proposal in in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. Also, critics are providing misleading information about Lenah and other sites.
The first alternative site offered is the Lambert site. However, the site has problems, the schools would have to be delayed by two years, and would cost $16,500,000 more than the Lenah site. The site may be viable for futue school sites, but even then with site development will cost as much as $500,000 more than the Lenah site. Here is a link to the LCPS Preliminary Analysis of the Lambert Property .
The second site is being offered by a developer in the Stone Ridge subdivison. The three school Board members that represent the areas effected by the HS-7 and MS-5, Robert DuPree, Priscilla Godfrey and myself couldn't attend the presentation on September 8th, so we signed a letter to express our concerns. Here is the letter:
To: Interested Attendees of the September 8th Community Meeting in Stone Ridge:
From: Robert DuPree, Chairman & Dulles District Representative, LCPS Board
Priscilla Godfrey, Blue Ridge District Representative, LCPS Board
Tom Reed, At Large Representative, LCPS Board
Date: September 8, 2008
Dear Friends:
As your elected School Board Members for the Dulles South area, we would like to thank you for attending this meeting to find out more about potentially locating MS-5 and HS-7 on two sites recently put forward by Van Metre, the developer of Stone Ridge. Regrettably, none of us can be there tonight due to previously scheduled and unbreakable School Board commitments, but we would like to offer the following facts to ensure you have accurate information.
As you probably know, the School Board and our professional staff have been diligently working for many, many years to evaluate, negotiate, and secure approval of a site for these two schools in order to have them open in 2010 (the MS-5 middle school) and 2011 (the HS-7 high school, respectively). Both facilities are badly needed ASAP to relieve current and future overcrowding at Mercer Middle School and Freedom High School. The Planning Commission public hearing is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, September 10, at 2008, 6 p.m. in the County Government Building in Leesburg.
We want to be very upfront with you in that the Lenah property is the ONLY site that can work to meet our school needs with respect to opening MS-5 in 2010 and HS-7 in 2011. Further, even with a preliminary vetting, it is clear that there are a number of significant problems with the newly proposed Van Metre sites, which you should be aware of, particularly if you are urged to voice support for them in lieu of Lenah. It is our opinion, and that of the professionals in Loudoun County Public Schools who have successfully built and opened over 40 schools in the past fifteen years, that the Van Metre sites will not meet our immediate needs. Many of our initial concerns with these sites have not been addressed by the developer. The following offers a brief overview of our concerns:
MIDDLE SCHOOL SITE –
* The middle school site is currently bisected by a road that would have to be abandoned through a legal process and then torn up to develop the property. The utilities in the road would also have to be relocated. At the current time, that appears to be the responsibility of the purchaser, which ultimately means the county and, thus, you as taxpayers.
* On the western boundary of the property, there is a high-pressure natural gas line and a high-pressure liquefied gas line.
* The eastern edge of the property contains a large storm water management facility that has already been constructed per county requirements. The storm water management facility raises student safety concerns.
* The developer would have to amend their Concept Plan with the county, which would require a year or more to process. Van Metre has been told that the delay is a significant issue for the School Board.
* The property requires a special exception and commission permit, not unlike the Lenah site. This will add more than a year to the legislative process. Construction cannot begin until the legislative and ministerial approval process is complete. The middle and high school buildings typically require up to 18 and 24 months to construct, respectively. The delay may result in the schools not opening until 2011/2012, nor does this take into consideration escalation and delay costs that may add as much as $16 million dollars to the proposed projects.
* The property is currently zoned PDGI (Planned Development-General Industry), which means the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development would likely oppose any change to its use since the land ultimately has the potential to be used for revenue generating purposes. Loudoun County Economic Development staff has previously expressed opposition to taking such land out of the current and future tax base as the county looks to diversify its revenue sources beyond the residential property tax.
* Even though Stone Ridge has an existing rezoning application on file with the county, it has been dormant for approximately 10 months. If their second submission comes back with a middle school site on it, LCPS will be starting from scratch. A new traffic study and other analyses would have to be conducted creating significant delay.
* The purchase price is $8 million, more than double the budget approved by the Board of Supervisors and voters for the MS-5 project. Unless the sites are co-located, as are the Lenah middle and high school sites, LCPS cannot use high school money to help with the purchase of this middle school property.
* Finally, and this is of paramount concern to many parents, the western boundary of the property contains long-distance, high-voltage (five hundred forty thousand kilo volt) electrical transmission towers and power lines. Three years ago, when the developer of Stone Ridge offered to proffer another site next to these same power lines for the new Arcola Elementary in exchange for the old Arcola Elementary on Goshen Road, School Board members, our staff, and the then Dulles District Supervisor told the developer that this location was unacceptable. As a result, Arcola is now located much further away, with significant buffering in between it and the power lines. There is significant concern among board members and the parents we deal with that schools should NOT be located adjacent to high-voltage power lines. Further, the three of us, who represent Dulles South, will oppose any such location next to the power lines, and we will urge our colleagues to do the same. So under no circumstances, even if all the previous issues listed are resolved, would this be an acceptable site for a middle school.
HIGH SCHOOL SITE - There has not been enough analysis of the high school site proposed by Van Metre. However, it is clear upon initial review that the site has significant problems, and at this point LCPS engineers are not convinced that a high school will work on the site because of designated wetlands, floodplain, steep slopes, and tree conservation areas already approved by the Board of Supervisors. An independent engineering firm has similar concerns, which have been raised to both Van Metre and School Board staff. Significant concerns remain, and if they could be overcome, it will require a significant investment in both money and time on the part of all parties.
In closing, we have previously worked successfully with the Van Metre on other school sites they have proffered; however, these two sites will not meet our needs. We will continue to examine sites for possible future school needs, but these sites just will not work to relieve Mercer Middle School and Freedom High School. Accordingly, we hope you will focus your attention and support on the Lenah site, which can provide the necessary relief within the projected time frames and budget.
Sincerely,
Robert DuPree Priscilla Godfrey Tom Reed
Chairman & Dulles Blue Ridge District At Large Representative Representative Representative
Bottom Line is the Lenah site is the only site that will allow us to open MS-5 and HS-7 on-time and below budget!
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