BY DON SCHELSKE
Clarkston News Staff Writer
The focus of Clarkston Community Schools bond construction has been on the buildings, and school districts are generally exempt from municipal zoning and site plan reviews.
On and beneath the surface, however, are infrastructure issues which will involve township and county governments.
Recognizing that fact, school officials last week discussed how to work for mutually advantageous improvements in water lines, stormwater management and traffic flow at four district buildings.
DeWayne Hein, the schools? contracted civil engineer, told the board Monday, March 22 of preliminary meetings with township contracted engineer Randy Ford concerning matters related to district building improvements.
‘I want to be able to do this with them,? Hein said, noting Ford’s authority to recommend approval or disapproval of infrastructure projects to the township government. ‘He’s got to buy into it.?
The agenda described the topic as ‘construction challenges.? School officials had previously discussed issues such as whether to connect more buildings to the township water supply or maintain and expand their own wells.
Hein seemed to favor township hookups for both reliability and long-term maintenance. The district must grant 20-foot wide maintenance easements for all water lines, however, including an existing main at Clarkston High School.
‘They would like to have all the water mains at all the schools to be turned over to the township,? Hein said, emphasizing that property ownership remains with the school district.
This is normal procedure,? according to Bruce Beamer, executive director of business and financial services. ‘If the water main breaks, it’s not Clarkston [schools?] problem; it’s a [township] problem.?
New water lines are proposed at the campus containing the South Sashabaw Early Childhood Center, Renaissance High School, Clarkston Elementary School and Clarkston Middle School and at the campus which includes Sashabaw Middle School and North Sashabaw Elementary School.
Superintendent Al Roberts said it is a ‘wise decision? to work with the township on these lines, as they will complete a loop in the township system and increase reliability. He also said the district will be charged for water according to metered measurements.
‘We’ve been assured that we will be charged like any other resident,? Roberts said. ‘This is an opportunity for us to participate in a partnership [with the township]. Both entities benefit.?
Although the district must pay for the hookups, Beamer said the municipal hookups will help the district avoid major projects such as a future water tower.
‘Water prices everywhere are going up,? he said.
Handling stormwater drainage is a challenge in a couple locations, especially where buildings are expanded. The new Early Childhood Center (to be located adjacent to an expanded administrative center) and the expanded Sashabaw and Clarkston middle schools are of specific concern.
A storm sewer will be necessary at the new ECC/administrative center because the building sits on a septic field, Hein said. While Clarkston Road is the closest access point, it is too shallow, and a wetland sits between the site and the Independence Township Library.
The third (and apparently best) choice is to run a connector to an existing sanitary sewer at Wealthy Street to the southwest, Hein said. A preliminary sketch chooses a route that will still allow for a possible new elementary school in the future.
Stormwater can be managed with an expansion of the adjacent wetland and a secondary detention pond on the other side of the bike path adjacent to the wetland. Hein said the engineering requirement is to handle ‘two 100-year floods simultaneously.? While such an event might cause the bike path to be covered, Hein said it would be both rare and temporary.
‘Detention is a tricky concept, but it’s basically how do you handle your water and where it has an overland relief to go to,? he said.
At Clarkston Middle School, Hein said the combination of realigned traffic loops and new curbing will divert any new runoff to adjacent playfields. An existing storm drain will be fitted with a restrictor to keep excessive water on the school fields longer. At maximum, officials expect no more than four to six inches of storm water, with the restrictor allowing a controlled drain.
Hein said one resident in an adjacent neighborhood complains of water running down the bike path from the middle school to his property, which does not have access to a storm sewer. By rerouting bus traffic and installing a new curb, ‘We’re going to stop the water from going in that direction,? Hein said.
The answers weren’t as easy for Sashabaw Middle School, which currently has no storm drain outlets and a natural gas line running through the property. Again, Hein proposed use of playfields as a short-term detention area, with a restrictor placed on a storm sewer drain on nearby Pine Knob Road.
‘Anything from here to Pine Knob Road will run as it does today,? Hein said.
The plan will require wide, shallow ditches around the perimeter of the play fields. ‘It should drain fairly well,? he said, and will provide ample access for play and maintenance.
Officials wondered aloud about the impact of the nearby development in the Sashabaw Road ‘town center? district. Hein said there was no stormwater management plan for the area adjacent to the school
When contacted later, Ford said all the new developments are being required to handle their stormwater runoff through either retention ponds and/or storm sewers.
‘That’s a totally different drainage area,? Ford said.
‘This is a sensitive topic,? Roberts said, alluding to controversy in recent years in connection with the new high school building and its effect on Almond Lane and Gulick Lake.
Roberts agreed with the need to coordinate with Ford on the infrastructure issues.
‘Folks somehow thought water was magically going upstream. There was a mindset among a lot of folks that we were causing a drought in that lake,? Roberts said. ‘This issue will be for you and Randy to agree to the calculations. Frankly, we don’t want to ever have to go through that again.?
In other issues, Beamer said bids were due to be let on realignment of the district’s fiber optic lines along Sashabaw Road near Pine Knob Elementary School, and Hein briefly described plans to improve traffic flow at the various schools. At both middle schools, for example, bus dropoff and pickup lanes will be realigned to separate them from parent pickup and dropoff.
At Sashabaw Middle School, parents can expect less of a backup on Maybee Road by having buses enter and exit via Pine Knob Road.
While Hein suggested a study of Maybee Road by the Road Commission for Oakland County, he did not recommend pushing for a new traffic signal.
Based on recommendation from his traffic engineers, Hein said, ‘There are 10 reasons to put them up; eight of them are bad. They don’t improve traffic from that standpoint.?
While there are still details to be worked out, Ford later said he was generally pleased by Hein’s proposals.
‘There needs to be a spirit of cooperation,? he said.
To further foster that cooperation, the school district has scheduled a construction information session for school and township officials at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 6.