LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The Jefferson County Board of Education unanimously approved a $2.1 million purchase Tuesday of 40 acres near the Parklands of Floyds Fork despite environmental and traffic concerns raised by neighbors and conservationists.
The land at Echo Trail will be home to a new $32 million middle school if plans pass muster with the Kentucky Department of Education. Jefferson County Public Schools expects it to be open for the 2022-23 school year and help ease overcrowding in middle schools in eastern Jefferson County.
"This land is going to be developed based on who owns it today," said board member James Craig, referencing Long Run Creek Properties.
"There's nothing that anybody in this room can do to prevent its ultimate development, and because it will ultimately be developed, I think we're doing an incredible service to the constituents that Mr. (Chris) Brady and I represent by ensuring that a public school goes on it."
Craig and Brady indicated broad support from those who represent that area of eastern Jefferson County not only on the school board, but also on Metro Council and in Kentucky's General Assembly.
That support will be crucial to funding road improvements in the area, one of the key complaints of opponents who say current infrastructure can't handle the traffic that a 1,000-student school will bring to the area.
Councilman Anthony Piagentini, R-District 19, spoke in favor of the land purchase and new middle school during Tuesday's board meeting and community forum.
"It is desperately needed for the community," he said.
Some who live in the area, however, say the board's pursuit of land near Floyds Fork is misguided and will pose environmental and traffic issues given the project's close proximity to the creek and the subdivision being developed nearby.
"The traffic studies that I've seen indicate that with the school we'll end up with a tenfold increase in traffic and with the adjacent subdivision that will come into play with this development it will be a 50-fold increase in traffic in that area," said Harrell Hurst, chairman of the neighborhood association. "There's already congestion."
Members of the Friends of Floyds Fork and Fisherville Area Neighborhood Association submitted a letter to the board Tuesday urging them to delay a vote on purchasing the 40-acre site until more information is available, such as documentation on acquisition and site preparation costs, property appraisals, and explanations on how the district negotiated terms on water and sewer infrastructure installation.
As part of its proposed sale with JCPS, Long Run Creek Properties has agreed to install sewer lines while the district must connect a gravity line. The seller must submit plans to the Louisville Metro Sewer District by Sept. 15 if the purchase is approved, according to the purchase agreement.
While Echo Trail has enough space to accommodate buses, Jefferson County Public Schools is working with city and state policymakers for road and intersection improvements. JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said the intersection at Shelbyville Road "needs significant work."
JCPS "will push for those improvements, and I believe that will happen," he said.
The Jefferson County Board of Education hears a presentation March 10, 2020, on building a new middle school on Echo Trail.
The district also expects minimal environmental impacts if the project advances.
The school will not be built in the Long Run Creek floodplain, and construction will not impact Floyds Fork, said Glenn Baete, the district's acting chief operations officer.
"This project will meet or exceed (Metro Sewer District) water-quality requirements," he said. "... The building footprints and parking lots were specifically designed and placed in the open and level agricultural areas of property to minimize the removal of woody plants and trees."
Jeff Frank, founder of the Friends of Floyds Fork, said Tuesday's vote was expected and his group had tried since January to sway the board to reconsider buying the land.Â
Tuesday's letter came late in the process because his group and the Fisherville Neighborhood Association asked for, but did not receive, records from the district regarding the deal and because board materials regarding the possible purchase weren't made available until last week.
Those who sent the letter are also contesting the proposed Echo Trail development in court, saying it runs afoul of the Floyds Fork District OVerlay regulations and environmental requirements.
JCPS will be a party in the lawsuit if the sale goes through, according to the letter.
"We realize our comments came late, but we didn't have access to any of the pertinent information that will be considered as part of this filing with the state board of education," Frank said.
JCPS must nsubmit its initial construction plans and sale contract to KDE for review. The state must also sign off on building designs, and the site plan must also be approved by Metro Louisville Planning and Zoning.
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