Council Committee to Consider Land Swap with School District
Monday's Recreation and Park Committee Meeting will help secure land for new school buildings
During Monday’s Council Committee meetings, the Recreational and Parks Committee, chaired by Councilman Jeff Schilling, will review a proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the City, the Board of Park Commissioners and the Troy City Schools for property land swaps after the sucessful passage of the school district’s building levy. The committee meetings will start at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers on Monday, November 27th.
The parameters of the general agreement was approved by the Board of Park Commissioners on Wednesday, November 22nd and provide the public a first glimpse of how the new school buildings will be laid out.
Site Plans for New Schools
The information provided to the Board of Park Commissioners shows in draft form how the parcels for the new school buildings will be built out.
South Middle School (Grades 5-6) located of Swailes Road
West Elementary School - Located between McKaig Avenue and Arthur Road (State Route 718)
This location is close to the current Concord Elementary School
North Elementary School - Trade Square West
This location is where Hook Elementary School will be demolished and replaced with a new elementary building
East Elementary School - Mystic Lane
This location is where Cookson Elementary School is currently located.
Key Points in the Agreement
Property Transfer: The City will convey Hook and Campbell Parks, totaling 8.25 acres, to Troy City Schools (TCS) by December 31, 2024, pending Troy City Council approval.
Ballfield Development and Management: TCS will create four to six youth-sized ballfields at various school properties, modeled after those at Archer Park. The City will schedule and manage these new ballfields.
Interagency Operating Agreement: An agreement will be drafted to outline the operation and maintenance responsibilities for these ballfields.
Property Remediation and Conveyance: TCS will demolish the Van Cleve, Heywood, and Kyle School buildings and transfer these properties in a "shovel-ready" state to the City by the end of 2027.
Use of Ballfields: The City can use the new ballfields for youth baseball and softball programs for at least seven years, with a 24-month notice if TCS needs to repurpose the property.
Equipment Transfer: TCS will transfer any surplus playground equipment to the City.
It's important to note that this MOU is not a legally binding contract. It expresses mutual intent and requires further negotiation to finalize all terms. Only a final executed transfer agreement will create legal obligations between the parties. This agreement represents a collaborative effort to benefit the community, focusing on improving educational and recreational facilities.
Impact to Neighborhoods
According to information from the City’s website, both the Hook and Cookson School sites have two ball diamonds that are currently used. Under the proposed plan, both of those locations will lose one diamond and new diamonds will be placed at the West Elementary School site and South Middle School site. This may have a more immediate impact on the north east side of town where Cookson school is. The only public park in the northeast quadrant of town, Campbell Park (noted as Park #4 in the map below) is immediately adjacent to Cookson School and is home to the two aforementioned baseball diamonds. The landswap will remove the only city operated park in this part of town.
The removal of the playgrounds that are currently situated at Heywood, Kyle and Van Cleve schools could also have a negative impact on those neighborhoods as well. It’s not a surprise that young families with children use those playgrounds when school is not in session. Neighbors of Van Cleve School have somewhat walkable options in Boyer and Herrlinger Parks where playground equipment exists. No such walkable option exists for families living near Heywood or Kyle Schools.
Community Survey Still Open
Don’t forget that our latest community survey is now open for responses. If you haven’t taken the four minutes to fill out the survey, please do so! The more responses we get, the better the results. You can access the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PF6SPPN
Thanks for reading today’s Civic Capacity Newsletter. If you have found this information valuable, please feel free to share this with your friends and neighbors. Thank you for your support of this project!