The INDEPENDENT, June 20, 2002
Page 13
City waives land use fees for school district greenhouse project
Banks City Council drew a
large crowd for their meeting
June 11, in support of a green
house project at Banks Ele
mentary School (BES).
The greenhouse project was
included in preliminary plans
for the new elementary school
but was eliminated in order to
cut costs. When the school
opened, it was qualified as both
a Metro Green School and a
Schoolyard Habitat School with
the National W ildlife Federa
tion, 4-H & Extension Service.
BES teacher Pamela Brown
explained that fund raising for
the greenhouse project has
been underway for two years.
The district needs a building
permit and, because the build
ing will be on the school
grounds, which is not zoned for
agriculture, they must first get
approval from the City of Banks
for a nonconforming land use.
Since this was an unexpected
cost, Brown and several other
project supporters came to the
city council to ask for a waiver
of fees.
Councilors Katie Murdock
and Teri Brandstitr expressed
support for the project but were
worried about setting a prece
dent for other non-profits.
C ouncilor Tim Hardie noted
that the land use approval fees
are designed to cover the city’s
costs associated with the appli
cation process.
City Attorney Jim Lucas said
that the decision about whether
or not a precedent has been
established is arbitrary but that
a decision to waive fees could
be viewed as a precedent in the
future. In order to limit a future
request to honor any precedent
set now, Lucas suggested that
council attach findings of fact
which would narrowly define
the situation in which the waiv
er is granted. Hardie made a
District hopes it can replace out-of-date math texts
From page 12
old. The district has received
permission from the state to
flip-flop the math and science
adoption and adopt math texts
this year (for 2002-2003) and
science books next year.
Groups of Banks teachers
have been meeting throughout
the year to ensure that the
math curriculum will help stu
dents meet state goals. Text
books have been selected for
each grade level, but it is un
certain when money will be
available.
Board member Doug Nord-
holm asked w hy the high
school curriculum was being
changed from an integrated
math approach to a more tradi
tional format. High school Prin-
cipal Jim Foster said that the
biggest problem with the inte
grated curriculum was a lack of
good quality, com prehensive
textbooks. In addition the inte
grated curriculum did not corre
spond well with the state re
quirements, Foster said.
Board member Gene Kelly
expressed concern that out-of-
state trips for students may be
sending a mixed message to
the public and he questioned
whether the continuous fund
raising for student activities
was having an impact on other
community-funded programs in
the city. Director Joe Evers said
the board has always approved
trips as long as there is no cost
to the district. Athletic director
Jim Smith said that groups are
seeking approval early so stu
dents can earn money over the
summer months. The board ap
proved out-of-state trips for
wrestling and FFA.
Elementary Principal Marty
Vogel said the site council has
facilitated developm ent of a
mission statem ent for the
school. The staff was involved
in the process and staff mem
bers have commented that a
mission statement has been
needed for a long time and it
will help to focus the staff’s en
ergies. The statement adopted
is:
“We are dedicated to being a
safe educational com m unity
that embraces the whole child.
“ We are c o m m itte d to re-
Please see page 14
simple motion to “waive the
$850 land use application fee,"
and with Councilor Judy Clifford
voted in favor, with Murdock
and Brandstitr opposed. To bre-
al the tie, Mayor Bob Orlowski
voted in favor of the motion and
the fee will be waived.
Public W orks S uperinten
dent Tim Grossnickle proposed
a process and an application
for bulk water that the city sells
to users on an honor system.
The process will allow the city
to track who is allowed to use
bulk water and monitor how
much they are using. The rate
for bulk water is approximately
twice the residential inside-the-
city rate. The proposal includes
an application, with a fee of $4
per month or $24 per year, that
requires users to estimate how
much water they will be using.
The city will call to find out how
much water was actually used.
Council approved Grossnick-
le’s proposal.,
G rossnickle reported that
the paving on Wilkes Street is
done, though some areas still
have to be protected from traf
fic. The storm drain was com
pleted by Clean Water at no
cost to the city and the county
hauled all the grindings away.
He also told council that the
slow sand filter and water in
take for the spring had been
cleaned and the water is much
clearer and cleaner. He has
completed a consumer confi
dence report and is in the
process of developing a securi
ty plan and an emergency re
sponse plan. He and Dale Mer-
rell, the city’s engineer, have
been working on computerized
w ater m onitoring
controls.
Grossnickle also reported that
there is another spring close to
the c ity ’s small spring, with
nearly the same water flow, that
the city may want to develop in
the future. The large spring is
currently providing almost ex
actly the amount needed for
daily use in the city, according
to Grossnickle.
In other business council:
• Approved a rate agreement
with the city attorney.
• Awarded the bid for land
scape maintenance of Green
ville Park to Landscape Spe
cialty Services for $414,316.
• After discussion of “conflict
of interest,” the council tabled
further discussion of the Parks
Maintenance Agreement until a
council workshop in August.
• Received from Ray Deeth
a photograph and biographical
information on the city’s foun
der John L. Banks.
• Approved the second an
nual Campus Youth Ministry
sum mer concert. The concert
will be held July 13th from noon
to 10:00 p.m.
• lone Pilate presented four
quilts she had made, to the
Banks Police Department for
their use.