Post by title1parent on May 7, 2008 4:15:02 GMT -5
Council: Metea High good to go
• Groundbreaking today: Agreement annexes 84 acres
May 7, 2008 Beacon News
By Dan Campana dcampana@scn1.com
AURORA -- On the eve of Metea Valley High School's groundbreaking, aldermen took care of a logistical measure prior to any construction -- again.
Before the Indian Prairie School District could begin work on the new school on Eola Road, the City Council needed to approve an amended agreement to bring the 84-acre site into Aurora.
Aldermen did just that, by an 11-0 vote, during a special council meeting Tuesday night.
A formal ceremony to kick off construction was slated for today, district officials previously said.
Annexation for the 3,000-student school returned to the City Council after changes in who was selling what to Indian Prairie.
In early April, aldermen approved an agreement and preliminary plans for a campus that included Metea and a new St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church. That proposal was essentially nullified when Midwest Generation opted not to sell its land to the School District.
Two weeks later, St. John's decided to sell all of its land -- 84 acres -- to Indian Prairie for $19 million. Under the original scenario, the church was to sell 49 acres to the district, with Midwest Generation selling an additional 37 acres for the school. The latter pulled out amid questions about whether the land was safe for a school.
District officials still expect classrooms to be ready for freshmen and sophomores by the start of the 2009-10 school year. A new site plan laying out how the school will be placed on the new land configuration is up for discussion tonight by the city's Plan Commission.
Although the five-minute special meeting was a formality, it did bring in two residents from a neighboring subdivision who expressed concern about parking. Alderman Lynda Elmore, whose ward includes the DuPage County site, told the couple the School District intends to hold meetings where residents can air their concerns. Under the original proposal, St. John's would have bordered the nearby Cambridge Chase subdivision.
The new school has generated controversy relating to the safety of the Midwest Generation land and whether the district was required to build on property commonly known as the Broch-Brodie site along 75th Street. Last week, the district announced plans to put the property up for sale.
That decision comes amid an ongoing lawsuit brought by a parent's group which claims Metea Valley cannot be built anywhere but Broch-Brodie.
• Groundbreaking today: Agreement annexes 84 acres
May 7, 2008 Beacon News
By Dan Campana dcampana@scn1.com
AURORA -- On the eve of Metea Valley High School's groundbreaking, aldermen took care of a logistical measure prior to any construction -- again.
Before the Indian Prairie School District could begin work on the new school on Eola Road, the City Council needed to approve an amended agreement to bring the 84-acre site into Aurora.
Aldermen did just that, by an 11-0 vote, during a special council meeting Tuesday night.
A formal ceremony to kick off construction was slated for today, district officials previously said.
Annexation for the 3,000-student school returned to the City Council after changes in who was selling what to Indian Prairie.
In early April, aldermen approved an agreement and preliminary plans for a campus that included Metea and a new St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church. That proposal was essentially nullified when Midwest Generation opted not to sell its land to the School District.
Two weeks later, St. John's decided to sell all of its land -- 84 acres -- to Indian Prairie for $19 million. Under the original scenario, the church was to sell 49 acres to the district, with Midwest Generation selling an additional 37 acres for the school. The latter pulled out amid questions about whether the land was safe for a school.
District officials still expect classrooms to be ready for freshmen and sophomores by the start of the 2009-10 school year. A new site plan laying out how the school will be placed on the new land configuration is up for discussion tonight by the city's Plan Commission.
Although the five-minute special meeting was a formality, it did bring in two residents from a neighboring subdivision who expressed concern about parking. Alderman Lynda Elmore, whose ward includes the DuPage County site, told the couple the School District intends to hold meetings where residents can air their concerns. Under the original proposal, St. John's would have bordered the nearby Cambridge Chase subdivision.
The new school has generated controversy relating to the safety of the Midwest Generation land and whether the district was required to build on property commonly known as the Broch-Brodie site along 75th Street. Last week, the district announced plans to put the property up for sale.
That decision comes amid an ongoing lawsuit brought by a parent's group which claims Metea Valley cannot be built anywhere but Broch-Brodie.