County seeks input on school

A decision on the fate of the city schools’ 10th elementary school has again been postponed.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted Monday to delay current plans in an effort to incorporate input received from nearby residents in December.

The commissioners were presented with a range of options for the Twin Creeks project, including an option to keep current plans and an option of a complete redesign that could take as long as a year.

Twin Creeks will include an elementary school, a middle school and recreational facilities and will be located north of Carrboro between Eubanks Road and N.C. 86.

The commissioners voted to support a compromise that would incorporate some of the citizen-proposed plans into the current plans.

“I’ve got a real problem in going back and throwing all that work out,” Commissioner Stephen H. Halkiotis said about the proposition of a complete redesign.

David Stancil, the director of the county’s Department of Environment and Resource Conservation, agreed.

“A redesign effort done right would take resources away from other projects,” he said.

The county is currently involved in the construction and planning phases of, among other projects, Orange County Schools’ third middle school, the city schools’ third high school and two new county senior centers.

“We use the Jenga analogy,” Stancil said of the idea of a complete redesign. “If you pull something out from underneath, it tends to collapse.”

Vice Chairman Barry Jacobs suggested that the commissioners focus efforts on four main points, one of which is moving the elementary school within walking distance of its surrounding neighborhoods — the principal concern voiced by residents in December.

“The issue of walking is a factor but should not be the driving and deterring factor,” Jacobs said.

The commissioners were also unsure that children would walk even if given the option.

“The driving force in my opinion is that walkability is one thing for planners and another thing for parents,” Halkiotis said.

Jacobs also suggested leaving the athletic field configuration; moving the proposed stadium closer to the other active recreational facilities; and considering a proposal for an action sports park that could include a dirt bike jump trail and a concrete bowl for skateboarding.

“We’ve made a commitment to the soccer community who’s been crying out for facilities,” Jacobs said.

Twin Creeks was scheduled to be funded through 2001 voter-approved bonds.

Halkiotis suggested that Chairman Moses Carey Jr. join Commissioner Alice Gordon in an ad hoc committee to incorporate suggestions so that the commissioners can hear a final proposal April 12.

Jacobs suggested that the project work group only accept written comments to keep the project moving forward.

“We need to limit it to no more than three months and limit the input we get from the public,” Carey said, “because this thing could go on and on.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.