BOE gives green light to school

Loudon County Schools’ plan to build a new grades 7-12 school in the north end of the county is progressing, but the deal to buy the necessary land still requires approval of the church that owns the property.

The Board of Education met Thursday to hold a workshop and meeting during which an engineering report was presented to confirm the suitability of the land, located at 6445 Highway 11 in Lenoir City, for building a school.

Jim Hinton, vice president of Cope Architecture, confirmed that the property was large enough to build a 200,000 square foot school for about 1,200 students and that infrastructure including sewer and water was available. He said the site was among the best of those considered.

“This is one of the better sites,” he said. “It’s a good candidate for a school.”

Hinton said that a traffic study would be required by the Tennessee Department of Transportation before work could begin. He said the topography of the land would require a lot of dirt to be moved and the construction of retaining walls.

Schools director Mike Garren said at least 10 other properties had been reviewed for the site of the school. The site now owned by First Baptist Church in Lenoir City was deemed to be the most suitable based on size, infrastructure and price. He said other properties that the Schools system looked at were either purchased before the schools could negotiate or lacked infrastructure.

“This site rises to the top,” he said.

Garren said all the other properties that were reviewed were as expensive or more expensive than the FBC property. He said the $1.825 million asking price for the approximately 35-acre site was excellent value

Having grades 7-8 included in the plan frees up space at North Middle and Eaton Elementary schools, he said. The school is needed because there is no available space for new classrooms at the two schools. The location of the property between the feeder schools was also ideal, he said.

The board met immediately after the workshop to unanimously approve a motion to grant Garren the power to negotiate for the purchase of the FBC property. The land is currently located inside Lenoir City limits after being annexed into the city in April of this year. Garren said he asked the church to begin the de-annexation process.

During the public comment period of the meeting, the board heard from Randy Harris, a resident that lives adjacent to the Highway 11 property. Harris, a member of the family that sold the land to FBC, said he was worried about increased traffic in the area.

Rosemary Hines Quillen, county commissioner representing District 2, which is in Lenoir City, said after the meeting that she has some big reservations about the proposal. She said she has been inundated with calls from citizens in her district concerned about everything from increased traffic to the effect the new high school might have on Lenoir City High School.

Quillen questioned the need for another high school located within Lenoir City limits. She said that she had not seen enough hard data to be convinced the enrollment numbers would justify a new school. She also said she had not seen cost estimates for building a new school or the effect such an expenditure would have on the county property tax rate.

“There’s a lot of moving parts to this,” she said.

FBC held a question and answer session before Wednesday night service Oct. 5 during which the plan was presented to members of the church.

The Long-Range Planning Team recommended that FBC enter negotiations with the Loudon County Schools system for the purpose of a land sale of approximately 35.1 acres of church-owned land consisting of approximately 27.2 acres on U.S. Highway 11 and approximately 7.9 acres on Simpson Road.

The minimum purchase price of $1.825 million for all properties is based on local comparable and a previous purchase offer for the 7.9 acres on Simpson Road. A final survey will determine total acreage and final price, according to documents distributed at the meeting.

Under the conditions of sale, the church would be given a legal right of way to connect to and access a proposed road from U.S. Highway 11 to Simpson Road. FBC would be granted first right of refusal on all properties to purchase back the property if it is decided not to build the school. The church and the school would reciprocate usage of parking facilities. The schools have also said they would fast-track the building of the road.

Rick Raines, FBC Long-Range Planning Team member, presented the plan developed by his committee with the help of Visioneering Studios, a consulting group. He said the proposed sale was a way to achieve three long-range goals including growing the church to 1,500 members, conducting 100 baptisms per year and achieving zero-debt status.

Raines said it had been determined that the current footprint of the church can support future growth plans. He said the proposed sale is also one of the fastest ways the church can gain access to the Highway 11 entrance. The sale also accelerates the goal of being debt-free over the next four years, he said.

Questions from church members included those about access on the proposed road, use of the parking areas and the timing of the sale.

Raines said the agreement guaranteed access to the road and the parking would be shared. The possible use of as many as 2,500 spaces was also feasible. The church would primarily use the largest number of spaces during Sunday services when schools are not open, he said. He noted that, had the land been sold for development of an apartment complex, the church would not have access to the parking areas.

Hunn denied that the church was making a great deal of money on the sale. He pointed out that the additional land on Simpson Road that is included in the $1.825 million price is valued at about $650,000.

“We didn’t know Loudon County was going to talk with us,” he said. “We didn’t list the property on the market.”

Hunn said that he wants the transaction to be a blessing on the community. He said that, although the planning team had only recently brought the issue to the church members, the goals have been discussed previously. Everything about the sale has been presented to the church following the bylaws including the vote by members of the congregation.

Another question-and-answer session was held on Saturday. A vote by church members that was scheduled for last Sunday has been rescheduled to this upcoming one during services. A presentation is scheduled for church members tonight before the regular Wednesday service to explain the long-range plan and show what can be accomplished with the available land.