Cecil Township approves Muse site plan for elementary school
The slated May 2017 completion date for construction of a new Muse Elementary School is on schedule after Cecil Township supervisors approved its site plan.
Supervisors voted 4-1 at their Thursday special meeting on the subject, with Elizabeth Cowden abstaining. Cowden said she didn’t receive enough information on the site plan to vote yes or no.
“I don’t have a problem with the building; it is needed. I don’t like the $31 million price tag, but the big problem I have is this is being rammed down our throat without me being able to review anything,” she said before her vote.
Chairman Tom Casciola said the project’s approval was made available to supervisors for months.
“It’s not our project, it’s (the school district’s) project. This isn’t our area of expertise. We could have this for another three months, and we’d still need our experts to weigh in on it. You’re slamming the school officials as if they’re not doing their due diligence on this project,” he said.
The vote came after township engineer Daniel Deiseroth said he flagged some concerns over off-site stormwater drainage, but HHSDR Architects site planner John Carly had addressed those issues in their final plan.
Construction is scheduled to start in the fall on the 110,000 square-foot building, which will accommodate 800 students in grades K-4. Students from the existing Muse school, as well as from First Street and Cecil schools, would move to the new building. Demolition of the existing school is scheduled for August 2017, according to Carly.
One aspect of the project addressed by supervisor Cindy Fisher, was if a temporary gravel construction road to the south of the building would become a permanent emergency access route.
“That will have to be decided by the school board. It’s in their hands now,” Deiseroth said after the meeting.
In other business, the board unanimously approved the $9,000 purchase of a parcel adjacent to the intersection of McConnell and Klinger roads.
“This is so we can make safety improvements in that area. The lanes need to be wider, for buses and bigger vehicles making wide turns,” said manager Don Gennuso.