Urbana City Schools board on Tuesday unanimously approved an additional property purchase as part of the school building project.
The board approved the purchase of a three-acre parcel adjacent to the 68.9-acre plot of land on South U.S. Route 68 for a price of $42,750. The property is owned by William Logan Neer. Urbana Superintendent Charles Thiel said Neer is a relative of the owner of the other parcel the district is looking to buy.
The board had already approved the purchase of the 68.9-acre parcel in May to serve as the location of the future elementary/middle school for $925,000. The purchase of that property has been delayed as the district investigated the viability of the site for school development.
The district is in the middle of a school construction project which will knock down and rebuild the existing high school on its current site and build a new pre-kindergarten to grade eight school elsewhere. The district had thought to build the elementary/middle school on land it already owns off Community Drive, but difficulties with creating roads to access the site and the property’s proximity to the city’s former landfill caused issues.
The additional parcel is needed because the district would like to have the entrance to the school property closer to the current Urbana city limits. This makes it easier to petition the Ohio Department of Transportation to keep the speed limit down, and reduces the chances of traffic building up speed before it gets to the school entrance.
Thiel said ODOT has rules on where reduced speed limits are warranted, and he said ODOT looks more favorably on lower speed limits if entrances to businesses and residences are closer together.
Thiel added the district had not considered purchasing the three-acre parcel previously because it didn’t think the property was needed for the development. But as officials continued to investigate the site, they began to see benefits in moving the school entrance closer to the city limits to reduce traffic issues.
Thiel added there will be a traffic light eventually at the entrance to the school, which should also help with any traffic safety issues. The entrance will have an added turn lane from Route 68 into the property as well. Thiel said the new widened portion of Route 68 with the turn lane will be put in before the school is complete, so the community will have time to get used to the new traffic flow.
Thiel added the new school will likely need to have different start and end times than what it runs currently, as the existing end time for school gets out during one of the heavier traffic periods at the proposed school site.
Thiel said with board approval of the three-acre parcel, he will now go to the district’s attorneys to move forward with the purchase of both parcels of property. He does not know how long it will take to finalize the sale, but he said he is hopeful it will be done before the end of the year.
Thiel said he has now received all documentation needed to determine the site of the new elementary/middle school – the district had been conducting site surveys, which included traffic studies and investigations into locations for utilities.
The district is still in discussion with the city of Urbana over the sewer line – its location, how big it needs to be and whether that line will become a public line or if it will stay private for just the school’s use. Thiel said the difference in cost is an estimated $100,000; but if it becomes a public line, it could foster additional development in that area of the city.
The potential school site already has access to a city water line at the location, but the district may need to put in pumps to provide the necessary water pressure for fire suppression at the school, Thiel said.
The hope is to begin construction on the elementary/middle school this spring once the weather becomes favorable for construction, Thiel said. The high school has already begun site work for its construction, which is expected to be completed in summer 2019, though students could be moved in there by March 2018.
