Construction begins on new elementary

WASILLA — As construction went on behind them Tuesday at the new South Palmer Elementary School site, Mat-Su Borough officials took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking on the heels of controversy involving vehicle access to the site.

Decked in blue helmets and wielding ceremonial gold shovels, members of the Mat-Su Borough School Board and Borough Assembly tossed dirt for the new school, which has been called a prototype for future elementary schools in the district.

Superintendent George Troxel was all smiles at the event, touting how much the district needs a new school.

“This will take pressure off,” Troxel said, referring to mounting enrollment numbers in other elementary schools.

South Palmer Elementary School will house 470 students. Built on 14.54 acres on what is largely vacant land, the school has views of the surrounding mountains and sits on property donated by developer Rex Turner in the Ranch Subdivision.

The 52,306-square-foot building was designed with innovative learning spaces in mind, district officials have said. Classrooms in the building have southwest exposure, providing for maximum sunlight during the day. A floor plan designed to be open allows for students to learn in a more independent way, while still under the watchful eye of teachers, district spokeswoman Catherine Esary said.

With construction continuing, residents of a nearby neighborhood are waiting ahead of the fall 2009 school opening to see how increased traffic will affect their neighborhood.

Controversy sprung up around the South Palmer Elementary site after residents of the Garden Terrace neighborhood near the school expressed concern over people using their neighborhood — specifically Abby Road — to gain access to the school.

Garden Terrace resident Dawn Cowan said she and her neighbors are most worried about the possibility of increased traffic.

“There has already been a very significant increase since the Ranch uses Abby [Road] as their only entry, and that has been very frustrating,” Cowan said.

At a joint meeting between the Mat-Su Borough Assembly and Mat-Su Borough School District Tuesday, Borough Public Works Director Keith Roundtree said school buses will be required to use the unpaved Nelson Road — which branches off Fireweed Road, the Parks Highway frontage — as the primary access to the school. The Borough and district, however, cannot control how parents access the school, and Roundtree said officials hope parents and teachers will voluntarily use Nelson Road instead of cutting through Garden Terrace.

Cowan said it appears the neighborhood’s concerns were taken seriously after residents were informed buses will use Nelson Road.

“So, we can hope that the parents who drop off and pick up their kids, along with teachers and other staff, will also use that access instead of cutting through Abby,” Cowan said.

Assemblywoman Michelle Church said she is concerned about the level of dust from Nelson Road — an unpaved, gravel road — when busses begin driving the route to the school daily. She asked Roundtree how quickly the road could be paved.

Roundtree said paving the road is not the responsibility of the developer, who only has to maintain it to proper gravel standards. The Borough will have to find funding — which Roundtree estimates at $1 million — to pave the road. Because of that, the road will not be paved by the fall 2009 opening of the school, Roundtree said.

No mention of the access controversy was heard during the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday. Those in attendance concentrated on what school district officials call an achievement for area schools.

Borough Mayor Curt Menard was clear in expressing his enthusiasm. “This is a great day for the Borough and the school district.”

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@frontiersman.com.