By Joanna Miller, Correspondent 

The discussion about removing a rare forest located on Prior Lake High School property will continue after a split vote Monday night (Aug. 25) cut down the hopes of some Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board members.

The School Board voted 4-3 to allow up to $25,000 from the facilities budget to fund a plan with the help of engineers from Savage for removing the woods, known as SS-9 and building a road a ball fields. The board anticipates the total planning cost will be $5,000, well below the approved amount.

Board Chairwoman Lee Shimek noted that the board is continuing to explore the option; it has not decided to remove SS-9. The decision on whether or not to remove the oak forest will come back to the School Board once plans have been developed.

Board Members Diane Ziemann and Michael Murray spoke out strongly against providing the funding, as they do not support removing the forest. Board Member Dee Dee Francis also voted against the resolution.

Shimek, Vice Chairman Tom Anderson, and Board Members Chris Lind and Eric Pratt voted in favor of the resolution.

The vote followed a failed motion (4-3) by Ziemann to end discussion on the topic completely. “My motion is to not go down that road. I cannot see why we would keep this moving forward,” she said.

Murray said spending $5,000 toward research was a waste. “I hope we’re being diligent in all dollars we’re spending,” he said. “They’re not being used for our students or kids. If it’s in such a good interest of the district, why wouldn’t (Prior Lake Aggregates) give money for the study?”

Murray asked the Board’s building committee to go back to the drawing board and look at finding experts to oversee the forest -- either as saleable property or in a partnership -- to preserve the woods.

“We’re not in the business of maintaining forests. Let’s find the experts. There have got to be other ways to save this,” Murray said.

District 719 has not chosen to give up the land, as it balances a ratio of property to developed area to allow for future expansion at the high school.

“There are variances given every day of the year,” Murray argued.

The city of Savage still has the authority to put a road on the property as it’s currently platted, which would clip some of SS-9 and assess the district for the road construction costs.

Murray said that the board was putting too much stock in a project that may not see fruition. Many platted roads have taken years to be built, or have never been built at all, he said.

Pratt defended the building committee’s work on the project. “I feel like this committee vetted it out. We started working on this thing while you were chair,” Pratt responded to Murray. “I would like to see the discussion happen.”

Anderson said that the $5,000 price tag comes from a standard fee the city of Savage asks all businesses or individuals to pay for engineering consulting services.

“The city (of Savage) said they do not do engineering for nothing. They do not want to start a precedent with that,” Anderson said.

Anderson added that Prior Lake Aggregates is looking for a decision from the School Board, or it will likely move forward on its own.

The business would offer to pay for the roadway as well as to offer grading and construction of two ball fields as part of the deal.

Changing their tune?

When it came to addressing one citizen’s concerns during an open forum, Pratt said that the citizens should look to the city of Savage for answers as to why the roadway needs to be constructed through the school property at all.

“It’s the city of Savage (and Prior Lake Aggregates’ plan.) The reason we’re involved is because we’re the property owner. You asked some great questions that need to be answered by the city of Savage,” Pratt said to Dick Callanan, a Savage resident who spoke to the board on behalf of the Woods & Wetlands Alliance.

Armed with research, Callanan reminded the board that saving the property has already cost taxpayers.

Callanan noted that in order to construct Prior Lake High School as it sits on the site today, the district spent more than $1 million in additional funds specifically to preserve the forested parcel.

Now, to remove the forest despite the initial intent and plat to keep the forest would be a waste, Callanan said. “I don’t know why any governing body would choose to renege on this,” he said.

As to the quality and condition of the forest, Callanan argued that “had a forest management plan been implemented early on, these problems would not be present.”

“This is not a win-win deal,” Callanan said. “Don’t ever tell me it’s a freebie. It’s not. We’ve already paid.”

Callanan noted that the discussion has left out a key component. No one has looked at the impact on wildlife, which already travel between forested patches in the every-growing suburban landscape, he said.

Earlier this year, the School Board voted to authorize the city of Savage and Prior Lake Aggregates Development Inc. to continue discussions to remove the oak forest. The 6-acre area was singled out for preservation when development plans for PLHS were approved five years ago because it was identified in a city-wide natural resources inventory as a high-quality Mesic oak forest.

As Prior Lake Aggregates has pursued redevelopment options for its gravel pit, which is next door to PLHS, questions have been asked regarding whether the trees should be saved or removed in order to accommodate development and a road between the two sites. Preliminary plans show a mix used development of homes and retail/commercial.

SS-9 contains 1,000 trees and includes a mix of oak, maple, elm and ash trees. In addition to removing the trees, Prior Lake Aggregates would grade away the large drop between its property and the school district’s property. That would allow more ball fields and a road to be built that would provide an alternative route to county roads 27 and 44. What’s more, Prior Lake Aggregates would cover costs for the road and field projects as an in-kind donation.

Putting in a road would eliminate the need to build an estimated 60- to 80-foot-high retaining wall that would face the gravel pit property, which board members saw as a concern for student and public safety. The retaining wall would be needed to build the road around SS-9 and between Prior Lake Aggregates and PLHS.

Kristen Pauly, a civil engineer with Prior Lake Aggregates has said work on the project could start as early as spring, if proper approvals are obtained.

 

Joanna Miller can be reached at jmiller@swpub.com.