Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 21, 1995 TAG: 9511210106
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Roanoke County school officials won't have to hunt for a site to build the new Cave Spring High School, but they will have to spend a lot of money to get it ready before construction can commence.
For three years, school officials searched for a site for the school - long before the School Board voted last week to build it.
They knew the county would ultimately need a new high school, but they were unsure of the timetable. They wanted to have a site and be ready when the school was needed.
They toured Southwest County by cars, and they made an aerial search by airplane.
"We looked at everything available," said Homer Duff, director of facilities and operations for the schools. "We searched the entire Southwest County area."
Because of extensive residential and commercial development in this part of the county, there are few tracts of at least 30 acres of vacant land that a school requires.
"No new sites are being created," Duff said.
School officials chose a site on Merriman Road near Penn Forest Elementary School. It is more than a mile south of the current high school.
The site is not ideal, but it is the best they could find, they said.
About 70 percent of the 30 acres is in the floodplain of Back Creek. Extensive grading and earthwork will be required to raise all buildings to a minimum first-floor level of 2 feet above the 100-year floodplain elevation.
Consulting engineers estimate the grading and other site work will cost $1.2 million.
Some Southwest County residents have expressed concerns about the site, but engineers said they believe it can be used.
About 35 percent of the fill material will have to be hauled in from another location.
Despite the grading and other developmental costs, the Merriman Road site will be cheaper in the long run than trying to buy a high-priced site with few developmental expenses, school officials said.
The site adjoins Starkey Park, which is owned and operated by the county. The schools and county hope to work out an agreement for possible joint use of facilities.
School officials said use of the park might have to be restricted during the school day, but parks officials said they want unconditional access to the park after the school day.
The school site is vacant except for the part that is being used for horseback riding. The rest is covered with grass, brush and a few small trees. There are several low areas in which water accumulates after rain.
Mattern & Craig of Roanoke, consultant engineers who studied the site, said the construction will increase traffic in the neighborhood because many students will drive to school.
Some neighborhood residents have voiced concern about the increased traffic. The Virginia Department of Transportation will require a traffic study if funding is approved and the school is built.
The engineers said the study must project the traffic volume and turning movements; identify the entrances to the school; and analyze the ability of existing streets to handle the traffic.
Engineers said access to water, sewer, natural gas, electricity and other utilities are good at the site.
The high school will have an impact on the neighborhood, engineers said, but the effects will be mixed. There will be more traffic and restrictions on the use of Starkey Park, but the neighborhood will get tennis courts, basketball courts and other recreational facilities.
Although the School Board has voted to build the school, it has to rely on the Board of Supervisors to fund the $33 million project.
The supervisors could hold a referendum on a bond issue to finance the school, or they could sell the bonds through the Virginia Public School Authority without a referendum.
Several supervisors have suggested that the Cave Spring project should be packaged with school improvements in other parts of the county to broaden voter support for a bond referendum.
The School Board will meet with the supervisors next week to discuss the school and its financing.
by CNB