Well, I had to miss a forum held Thursday October 15th about where the new Millville High School will be built but Jason LaDay wrote a good article in Friday's News of Cumberland County.
This is my ongoing report on the process of having a new high school built in Millville New Jersey. You can see my previous reports on the Route 55 blog.
John Hamilton, a real estate official for the SDA, went through the four principal possibilities of the new school site, listing what the authority will be considering when weighing their options as to where the final choice will go.
They included:
~ Cedar Street, across from Bogden Road:
Pros included adequate land and water/sewer availability.
A downside there includes added construction costs toward soundproofing against noise from the municipal airport and the New Jersey Motorsports Park.
~ Unused portion of the Four Seasons development, near the intersection of Cedarville and Buckshutem roads:
Also features adequate land and sewer/water hookups.
However, there is a higher anticipated cost to acquire the land due to the site already having been approved for additional senior housing.
In addition, Millville fire and police officials have expressed concerns as to emergency response times. The city and residents have also broached traffic concerns.
~ The city industrial park, on Gorton Road:
Possesses required amount and land as well as sewer/water connections.
Cons include an active freight rail line that would impede entry to the school as well as bring potentially hazardous materials through a school zone.
Emergency officials also brought up response time concerns.
~ West Main Street, west of Smith Road:
With the most amount of residents present at the forum opposing this location, they raised homemade sings listing the various problems this location would cause.
According to the SDA, the site provides enough land available for future school expansion and would reduce the impact a new high school would cause on existing residential neighborhoods.
In addition, Hamilton stated there is "sizable" commercial development planned for the area west of Smith Street, and a new high school would already be there to accommodate the increased activity there.
However, they admitted to problems with sewer and water connections, stating the required permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection would delay the project anywhere between three to five years.
"We're looking at about eight or nine sites right now," said Murphy. "There's a lot to be said for the west side of the city; there's a lot of space and 20 to 30 years from now, there will be a lot of development (We will have to see!)
Some facts about the new high school revealed at the forum:
The SDA will spend $163 million toward all studies and construction of the school.
~ However, it does not pay for water and sewage connections.
~ Will accommodate 2,300 students from grades nine through 12.
~ A total of 356,288 square feet in size.
~ Will include business and health classrooms, special education classrooms a media center library and music and art rooms.
Next steps:
The city commission and board of education must now take include submitting written reports on each potential site on whether they are owned by the City of Millville, the school district or private citizens.
The SDA along with the N.J. Department of Education will then review the sites in writing, forwarding its opinions to the school district.
From there, the district will identify up to three locations for final consideration following a public hearing, and the SDA and N.J. DOE will run feasibility
I will have to check out a few of these meetings and see what's up. I hope that I get feedback on this so I can be better informed. The process is drawn out and needs to be watched by all Millville Residents
This is my ongoing report on the process of having a new high school built in Millville New Jersey. You can see my previous reports on the Route 55 blog.
John Hamilton, a real estate official for the SDA, went through the four principal possibilities of the new school site, listing what the authority will be considering when weighing their options as to where the final choice will go.
They included:
~ Cedar Street, across from Bogden Road:
Pros included adequate land and water/sewer availability.
A downside there includes added construction costs toward soundproofing against noise from the municipal airport and the New Jersey Motorsports Park.
~ Unused portion of the Four Seasons development, near the intersection of Cedarville and Buckshutem roads:
Also features adequate land and sewer/water hookups.
However, there is a higher anticipated cost to acquire the land due to the site already having been approved for additional senior housing.
In addition, Millville fire and police officials have expressed concerns as to emergency response times. The city and residents have also broached traffic concerns.
~ The city industrial park, on Gorton Road:
Possesses required amount and land as well as sewer/water connections.
Cons include an active freight rail line that would impede entry to the school as well as bring potentially hazardous materials through a school zone.
Emergency officials also brought up response time concerns.
~ West Main Street, west of Smith Road:
With the most amount of residents present at the forum opposing this location, they raised homemade sings listing the various problems this location would cause.
According to the SDA, the site provides enough land available for future school expansion and would reduce the impact a new high school would cause on existing residential neighborhoods.
In addition, Hamilton stated there is "sizable" commercial development planned for the area west of Smith Street, and a new high school would already be there to accommodate the increased activity there.
However, they admitted to problems with sewer and water connections, stating the required permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection would delay the project anywhere between three to five years.
"We're looking at about eight or nine sites right now," said Murphy. "There's a lot to be said for the west side of the city; there's a lot of space and 20 to 30 years from now, there will be a lot of development (We will have to see!)
Some facts about the new high school revealed at the forum:
The SDA will spend $163 million toward all studies and construction of the school.
~ However, it does not pay for water and sewage connections.
~ Will accommodate 2,300 students from grades nine through 12.
~ A total of 356,288 square feet in size.
~ Will include business and health classrooms, special education classrooms a media center library and music and art rooms.
Next steps:
The city commission and board of education must now take include submitting written reports on each potential site on whether they are owned by the City of Millville, the school district or private citizens.
The SDA along with the N.J. Department of Education will then review the sites in writing, forwarding its opinions to the school district.
From there, the district will identify up to three locations for final consideration following a public hearing, and the SDA and N.J. DOE will run feasibility
I will have to check out a few of these meetings and see what's up. I hope that I get feedback on this so I can be better informed. The process is drawn out and needs to be watched by all Millville Residents
2 comments:
I find it interesting that the Bogden Road site would require soundproofing. Why is that? There is no noise issue there. The city has a report from the motorsports park that shows that there have been no violations of the noise ordinance, which is 80db for 20 minutes.
Anything short of that would not possibly be disruptive.
I fully expect those who go after the "complainers" of the racetrack go after those who want to spend a penny more on this school to soundproof it.
Do you think they will? Will you?
I find it funny that the article you mentioned is titled "West side not likely for new Millville high school" when reading though the article they appear to be favoring the West side for the land and future expansion. Personally I am not a fan of it being on the west side as where I live was once a contender and is very close, but it seems as if the West side is the favorite. Even with the added cost of the water and sewer, which is worse for resident who will have to pay for theirs. I will be surprised to find them place it elsewhere in the city. I know they will keep it hush hush because of the rally against having it on the West side, but the city and everyone else likes the idea and surely they could care less what the residents really want, they just have to pretend they do.
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