ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603280049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: CITIZENS AGENDA
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
SOME ROANOKE COUNTY RESIDENTS question if one large high school built in a flood plain is better than two smaller high schools built elsewhere.
When Roanoke County school officials began searching for a site for a new Cave Spring High School several years ago, they took a flight over the southwest part of the county. They also drove down many roads looking for large tracts of vacant land.
Still, they found few sites that were available and suitable. Because of extensive residential and commercial development in Southwest County, there is little undeveloped land remaining.
"No new sites are being created," said Homer Duff, director of facilities and operations for county schools. "We looked at everything available."
After searching for three years, school officials chose 26.5 acres on Merriman Road across from Penn Forest Elementary School near Starkey Park. They knew the site was less than ideal because part of it is in the flood plain for Back Creek, but they said it was the best they could find.
The School Board bought the land before the county decided to hold a bond referendum to finance the proposed $33.6 million school. The referendum is Tuesday.
Many voters have raised questions about the site and wisdom of building a school in an area that could be flooded.
"Is one large high school, built in a flood plain, better than two smaller high schools?" asks Keith Bohon, a Southwest County resident.
Mark Slusher, who lives in Southwest County, said the site is considered by many to be less than ideal, noting that school officials justify it on grounds that no other suitable sites were available.
"It's unbelievable that anyone who has actually seen this site and talked to the people who live there, would consider it for a school," said Don Terp, who lives in North County and is leader of a group opposing the bond issue. "The flooding situation will get worse, much worse, as more houses are built upstream."
But the architects and engineers for the new school said the site is suitable and can be developed to reduce the threat of flooding.
"We feel comfortable with the site," said James Copeland, a representative for Moseley McClintock Group, a Richmond firm that is doing the feasibility study and designing the building.
Copeland said fill dirt would be used to raise the site so the building will be at least 2 feet above the 100-year flood elevation. The front part of the site where the building would be will be raised about 11 feet. The school's ground floor would be about the same level as Merriman Road and Penn Forest Elementary across the street.
The rear of the school site will be raised above the 10-year flood elevation. Space for physical education classes and parking would be in this area, Copeland said.
Starkey Park is the floodway adjacent to the school site. The existing ball fields would remain in the park, but there will be no development in this area. No fill dirt would be placed in the park.
Copeland said the school site and park, which would be used jointly by the school and county recreation department, cover approximately 39 acres - more than the state-mandated minium of 29 acres for a 1,900-student school. The School Board is looking into acquiring more land to allow more options for site development.
Copeland said the cost for developing the site, including bringing in fill dirt, is estimated at $3.2 million. He said it is in line with recent costs for other high schools in Virginia.
The site costs were $4.5 million for an 1,800-student high school recently built on 30 acres in Portsmouth and $4 million for a school in Chesterfield County, he said.
Copeland said construction can begin immediately after the site has been raised without waiting for the fill material to settle, as some residents have suggested. The dirt will be compacted when placed on the site, so no delay would be necessary, he said.
Even some supporters of the bond issue wish there were a better site, but they said that trying to find a new one at this point would just increase the school's cost.
"The site is unfortunate, but there is no other place around to build that is a cheap site. If we change sites, we're just adding more expense to building the new high school," said Kathy Batchler, mother of two children at Cave Spring Junior High.
"We are land-poor, and I agree that site is minimal for a new high school. However, that is all we've got," Batchler said.
Bob Johnson, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, described the site controversy as a "bogus issue." The $33 million project will not be constructed there unless engineers say the site is suitable and it meets drainage and runoff regulations, Johnson said.
Others have voiced concern about the impact of a 1,900-student school on neighborhood traffic and the parking spaces that will be provided for students at the school.
"Bus transportation costs are a requirement, but providing parking spaces for high school students is not," said Robert Walawski, a North County resident. "Why should county citizens have to subsidize the cost of student parking? Money allocated for high school parking lot expansion could be used on educational needs."
No decision has been made on the number of student parking spaces that would be provided at the new school, Copeland said. Until the final layout has been determined and the School Board decides whether to acquire additional land, the amount of land available for parking won't be known, he said.
If most of the space at the rear of the new school is used for physical education facilities and no more land is bought, the parking spaces would be reduced, Copeland said.
The county provides parking spaces for students at all of its high schools, including the existing Cave Spring High.
Copeland said the Virginia Department of Transportation has indicated the neighborhood can accommodate the traffic that would be generated by the new school.
"It was their general response that the school would be acceptable provided the design standards for the roads serving [it] meet VDOT standards, including proper sight distances," he said.
VDOT will require a traffic study, he said.
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