Posted 1:33 am Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Residents Voice Concerns on Griffin Plan
By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer
Citing concerns about traffic congestion, history and worries about the type of activity a public park could bring into their neighborhood, several community members spoke against a proposal by the city and school district to swap park land and school property to make way for a new Griffin Elementary.
Staff Writer
Citing concerns about traffic congestion, history and worries about the type of activity a public park could bring into their neighborhood, several community members spoke against a proposal by the city and school district to swap park land and school property to make way for a new Griffin Elementary.
Approximately than 200 people attended a community meeting in the gym of Griffin Elementary Monday night.
While community members supported the new school, no one spoke in favor of the “land swap” proposal.
While community members supported the new school, no one spoke in favor of the “land swap” proposal.
No decisions were made on the proposal at this community meeting.
Voters approved the replacement of six Tyler ISD schools in a $124.9 million November bond issue, including Griffin.
Voters approved the replacement of six Tyler ISD schools in a $124.9 million November bond issue, including Griffin.
During Monday’s meeting, Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid made a presentation on the land swap proposal, which would allow TISD to build the new Griffin Elementary on a portion of Woldert Park, a city park across the street from the school.
The “land swap” would work similarly to other agreements between the city of Tyler and school district to swap park land and school property when the new Douglas and Ramey elementary schools were built as part of the 2004 bond.
Under this proposal, once the new Griffin is built and the old is torn down, a park would be created where the old school was — with upgraded amenities that TISD would pay for, including two new basketball courts, a walking trail, picnic tables, a playing field and playground equipment. The existing gym at Griffin would remain and be turned into an open air pavilion for community gatherings.
The swimming pool and soccer fields at the existing Woldert Park would remain, under the proposal.
As part of its agreement with the city, in order to do an equivalent land swap, the school district also would give the city about 6 acres of land at the south end of Dixie Elementary for a park.
The superintendent explained Monday night that in looking for a location for the new Griffin, six or seven options were examined, including some near Broadway Avenue, but he said those options had significant water issues and slope issues. Some of those issues would delay the opening of the school. The district hopes to open the five new schools part of the 2008 bond program in August 2010. A delay in construction of a year could cost the district about $1 million, Reid said.
Reid also noted the current property is too small of a site to rebuild the school.
Plans are to build Griffin Elementary to house 800 students using the Jack Elementary School/Douglas Elementary School model used in the 2004 bond program. Reid showed photos of the current Jack Elementary, including the courtyard, gym and the outside of the school as well as drawings of what the current park would look like with the new school on it and what the new park would look like with its amenities.
“We’re excited,” Reid said at the start of the meeting. “We believe it’s a win-win for us and the community.”
CONCERNS
Ruford L. Whitaker expressed concern about more congestion being brought into the neighborhood by the park moving.
“I like the school, but I don’t like the park business,” Whitaker said. “The school looks beautiful. It has nothing to do with the school, but I think it ought to be in a better location.”
Reid said that in “this contiguous neighborhood, there really weren’t any other quality pieces of land available to us …”
Reid said this proposal would move the park a little closer to the neighborhood, but added that’s why the district didn’t want to add a soccer field there, but, “we wanted it to be an area where you would enjoy going and spending time with your family in the park.”
Ed Thompson said there are other location options for the school. Reid agreed that there are other options within the Griffin attendance area, but said those would remove the school from this particular neighborhood and would require the students to go out of the neighborhood to go to school.
“We pulled every available piece of land,” Reid said, adding they talked to landowners and looked at “buildability” at other places.
Thompson said there are other options, but they may not fit the timeline the district has.
Thompson said Woldert Park was “designed for a park.”
“If they wanted a school there, they would have built it then,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right to come in and take the best part of this park … to save your money and time.
“We’re trying to make this area better and you come here talking about splitting a park where you’ve got a usable section here and a not usable section over there,” Thompson said.
Others also said they wanted to see other options for the location of the school and also spoke about the history of the park as well as concerns about congestion.
Reid said there would be more parking at the new school and also said that parking would remain for the new park as well.
Reid said the district “was trying to do something to make Woldert Park even nicer.” He said in the areas where other new schools were built, homes have been revitalized.
“A new school in a community is one of the best things you can do,” he said. “Elementary schools are really good neighbors to have.
“What we’re trying to do was to build a park back that we thought you’d be really, really proud of,” Reid said, adding the district wanted to put in new amenities and also noting it was not the intent to step on history or offend anyone. “Our purpose was to try to do the right thing by the community.”
Several community members worried about people hanging out in the park at night.
Andrew Melontree expressed concern about problems public parks can bring.
“We don’t need to invite that kind of element into our community,” he said.
Melontree also was concerned about how much Reid would be impacted by what the public said at the meeting Monday night. Reid said the comments were “certainly a factor.”
Melontree also expressed concern about the proposal seeming like “a deal that’s already been done.” Reid said the district had drawings and plans at the meeting because they didn’t want to bring the community a “half-baked plan.”
“It doesn’t have to be here,” Reid said of the location of the school.
He said if the school being located in its current contiguous neighborhood was not an issue for the community, “I can move beyond this particular contiguous neighborhood and begin to look at other properties.”
“My goal was to try to have the least disruption on the students that I could possibly have,” Reid said.
TISD Board President Ron Vickery as well as TISD Trustee the Rev. Orenthia Mason said they were listening to the community’s concerns.
“Is it a done deal? No, it’s not a done deal. I want to assure you I have listened,” Rev. Mason said.
Tyler City Councilman the Rev. Ralph Caraway told the group that the purpose of the meeting was to have a dialogue.
“The purpose of the meeting was to hear what the public had to say,” he said. He suggested regrouping and considering what was said at the meeting.
Caraway said it was unfair to attack the city or the school district with hypotheticals.
“We can go on all night,” Caraway said. “With everything you have brought to the table, it certainly puts it in a different light.”
Reid said after the meeting, “We need to go back and regroup and see if our plan still makes sense based on the information that we got. … We’re trying to do the right thing for kids, and sometimes it’s hard to make everybody happy when you do that. We thought this plan was going to do that, and clearly we miscalculated some. We’ll regroup and figure out what we’re going to do.”
The “land swap” would work similarly to other agreements between the city of Tyler and school district to swap park land and school property when the new Douglas and Ramey elementary schools were built as part of the 2004 bond.
Under this proposal, once the new Griffin is built and the old is torn down, a park would be created where the old school was — with upgraded amenities that TISD would pay for, including two new basketball courts, a walking trail, picnic tables, a playing field and playground equipment. The existing gym at Griffin would remain and be turned into an open air pavilion for community gatherings.
The swimming pool and soccer fields at the existing Woldert Park would remain, under the proposal.
As part of its agreement with the city, in order to do an equivalent land swap, the school district also would give the city about 6 acres of land at the south end of Dixie Elementary for a park.
The superintendent explained Monday night that in looking for a location for the new Griffin, six or seven options were examined, including some near Broadway Avenue, but he said those options had significant water issues and slope issues. Some of those issues would delay the opening of the school. The district hopes to open the five new schools part of the 2008 bond program in August 2010. A delay in construction of a year could cost the district about $1 million, Reid said.
Reid also noted the current property is too small of a site to rebuild the school.
Plans are to build Griffin Elementary to house 800 students using the Jack Elementary School/Douglas Elementary School model used in the 2004 bond program. Reid showed photos of the current Jack Elementary, including the courtyard, gym and the outside of the school as well as drawings of what the current park would look like with the new school on it and what the new park would look like with its amenities.
“We’re excited,” Reid said at the start of the meeting. “We believe it’s a win-win for us and the community.”
Ruford L. Whitaker expressed concern about more congestion being brought into the neighborhood by the park moving.
“I like the school, but I don’t like the park business,” Whitaker said. “The school looks beautiful. It has nothing to do with the school, but I think it ought to be in a better location.”
Reid said that in “this contiguous neighborhood, there really weren’t any other quality pieces of land available to us …”
Reid said this proposal would move the park a little closer to the neighborhood, but added that’s why the district didn’t want to add a soccer field there, but, “we wanted it to be an area where you would enjoy going and spending time with your family in the park.”
Ed Thompson said there are other location options for the school. Reid agreed that there are other options within the Griffin attendance area, but said those would remove the school from this particular neighborhood and would require the students to go out of the neighborhood to go to school.
“We pulled every available piece of land,” Reid said, adding they talked to landowners and looked at “buildability” at other places.
Thompson said there are other options, but they may not fit the timeline the district has.
Thompson said Woldert Park was “designed for a park.”
“If they wanted a school there, they would have built it then,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right to come in and take the best part of this park … to save your money and time.
“We’re trying to make this area better and you come here talking about splitting a park where you’ve got a usable section here and a not usable section over there,” Thompson said.
Others also said they wanted to see other options for the location of the school and also spoke about the history of the park as well as concerns about congestion.
Reid said there would be more parking at the new school and also said that parking would remain for the new park as well.
Reid said the district “was trying to do something to make Woldert Park even nicer.” He said in the areas where other new schools were built, homes have been revitalized.
“A new school in a community is one of the best things you can do,” he said. “Elementary schools are really good neighbors to have.
“What we’re trying to do was to build a park back that we thought you’d be really, really proud of,” Reid said, adding the district wanted to put in new amenities and also noting it was not the intent to step on history or offend anyone. “Our purpose was to try to do the right thing by the community.”
Several community members worried about people hanging out in the park at night.
Andrew Melontree expressed concern about problems public parks can bring.
“We don’t need to invite that kind of element into our community,” he said.
Melontree also was concerned about how much Reid would be impacted by what the public said at the meeting Monday night. Reid said the comments were “certainly a factor.”
Melontree also expressed concern about the proposal seeming like “a deal that’s already been done.” Reid said the district had drawings and plans at the meeting because they didn’t want to bring the community a “half-baked plan.”
“It doesn’t have to be here,” Reid said of the location of the school.
He said if the school being located in its current contiguous neighborhood was not an issue for the community, “I can move beyond this particular contiguous neighborhood and begin to look at other properties.”
“My goal was to try to have the least disruption on the students that I could possibly have,” Reid said.
TISD Board President Ron Vickery as well as TISD Trustee the Rev. Orenthia Mason said they were listening to the community’s concerns.
“Is it a done deal? No, it’s not a done deal. I want to assure you I have listened,” Rev. Mason said.
Tyler City Councilman the Rev. Ralph Caraway told the group that the purpose of the meeting was to have a dialogue.
“The purpose of the meeting was to hear what the public had to say,” he said. He suggested regrouping and considering what was said at the meeting.
Caraway said it was unfair to attack the city or the school district with hypotheticals.
“We can go on all night,” Caraway said. “With everything you have brought to the table, it certainly puts it in a different light.”
Reid said after the meeting, “We need to go back and regroup and see if our plan still makes sense based on the information that we got. … We’re trying to do the right thing for kids, and sometimes it’s hard to make everybody happy when you do that. We thought this plan was going to do that, and clearly we miscalculated some. We’ll regroup and figure out what we’re going to do.”
