By Gary Lloyd
The Trussville City Board of Education on Monday approved preparation of a preliminary site report to determine the feasibility of a new elementary school at the Magnolia Place property.
Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill said the school board has sent a memorandum to the Trussville City Council and Mayor Gene Melton asking the city to deed the property to the school system. Neill said the city is “making motions” toward deeding the property to the school system.
Neill said the school system wants to perform site work before the property is deeded to it to determine if the area is feasible for a new school.
“We believe it is,” Neill said.
Of the 39 acres the school system is asking for, 15 acres would be for the new elementary school.
A rendering of the elementary school that will be built in the Magnolia Place area
photo courtesy of Trussville City Schools
Neill said the second question after determining the 39 acres is feasible is deciding where the new school will be placed. The school’s placement has to do with soil quality and rock issues, Neill said.
Neill said should the school not be able to be placed where the school system wants it, it will have to be determined where it will be placed and how the traffic will flow into and out of that area.
Neill said the 39-acre site should have room for a future middle school, should one be necessary in the future.
LBYD Civil and Structural Engineers, along with Trussville City Schools Interim Director of Facilities Barry Davis, will perform the work, which should begin immediately, Neill said.
A rendering of what the elementary school in the Cahaba Project will look like, as seen from where Jack Wood Stadium currently stands
photo courtesy of Trussville City Schools
The board of education voted in favor of two new elementary schools in May, to be located in the Magnolia Place area and at the historic New Deal era school on Parkway Drive in the Cahaba Project. Each school will house roughly 400 students, with a capacity of about 500. Construction, including equipment necessary for students to move in, will cost a total of about $18 million.
Neill said the two schools will likely be constructed concurrently, though the two projects will appear different throughout construction due to the difference in the two sites. Land must be cleared at Magnolia Place. At the old high school and middle school site, Jack Wood Stadium will be torn down, and the historic building, library and eighth grade wing will be preserved. Additional structures will be built.
Neill said a landfill near the Magnolia Place site is about 41 years old and is expected to be full and covered in 10 years. The landfill has had some noise and odor complaints, Neill said, all of which were taken care of. Neill said air quality monitors will be located around the school and checked daily.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
