The Kenna Ridge Industrial Park was purchased in late 2004. At that time, it was an undeveloped mountain. The deed for the proposed school site was not signed until 2007 after the property was leveled to an acceptable standard set by the School Board. Reason tells us that anytime you move huge amounts of dirt and trees, the land has to have time to settle. The proposed Kenna Ridge site will be sitting partially on rock but also a lot of fill. If a person walks to the back of the site, they can see a huge slip from all of the excavation. There is also a slip on the front side near Dudden but it is less noticeable due to the grass. It makes one wonder what sort of problems the site is going to experience when even more dirt is moved around once construction begins. How many MORE slips will occur? How will the current slip (especially the one in the rear of the property) be stopped or repaired?
The current school has sat on Rt. 21 for 69 years. Although many changes have occurred over the year such as additions, there has been a school at this site since 1942. Opponents will tell you it is a flood zone and the school has been flooded before. That is not totally true. The school is NOT in the flood plain and the water issues were caused by lack of maintenance. The creek was never kept cleaned out and the parking lot has an antiquated drainage system. Actually, the whole school does. Adding rooms without updating the drainage system is asking for trouble.
According to the approved 2009 conceptual design, a new school would be 10 feet HIGHER than the current school. So, the water issue would become a non-issue. The new school would be built beside the current school building on land that is stable and not prone to slips. Greene's Farm is rolling hills and pastureland, not a sliced off mountain. Which is the better option?
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