The Baldwinsville Central School District is investigating the possibility of building a new bus garage to replace its existing 70-year-old structure.
But a number of residents are concerned about the potential locations for the construction. A group referring to itself as the Coalition of Concerned Citizens have been sending letters to the district office and to members of the board of education to try to prevent the district from razing the woods behind Durgee Junior High School. The group has sent out a flier detailing the potential negative impact the bus garage could have on the nearby residential area, including environmental and noise pollution, loss of green space and negative impact on property values.
Members of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens did not return requests for comment.
But Assistant Superintendent for Management Services James Rodems said the district hasn’t decided for sure that it will build a new garage, much less where it will go.
“I haven’t been told by the board to build yet,” Rodems said. “We’re still brainstorming and seeing what we can use the property for. If we own it, we have a responsibility to the taxpayers to look at everything.”
In a letter responding to a resident, a copy of which was provided to the Messenger, Rodems wrote that the district is still exploring the possibility of a potential capital project, which would come before the voters in February of 2016. Among the potential projects is the bus garage.
“The current space is in a wooden roofed 70 year old structure,” Rodems wrote. “We have only two bus lifts for the maintenance of 108 buses. We also work on 30 maintenance and custodial vehicles. A steel building coupled with a cinder block office, parts storage, locker room and training spaces is being considered.”
Rodems noted that the board is exploring several locations, but since the district owns the property north of Durgee, it makes sense to look at the land there. As part of the planning process, the district is having the land surveyed, which is what he believes set off the neighbors’ concerns.
However, he emphasized, both in the letter and in his conversation with the Messenger, that the process is still in the very preliminary stages.
“We have to emphasize the following: no decision has been made by the board of education to build a new bus garage; no decision has been made on a location where such a facility would be placed,” he wrote in the letter.
Rodems told the Messenger the district would likely use the Durgee property for something in the future.
“We’re looking at the property as a potential location for something. We own the land. We have 20 to 25 acres there that may or may not be useful for something,” he said. “We’re not looking to be bad neighbors. We’re not looking to take out the cross country trails. We’re not looking to wreck the nature trails. If we decide to build, we will keep cognizant of the neighborhood.”
Rodems also said he was glad to hear from the neighbors, as it had generated some good conversations.
“I’ve heard a lot of good ideas that we might consider,” he said. “Maybe it’s time to pull the bus garage out of the village. That’s not a bad idea.”
The board’s next meeting is Sept. 14.
