Officials from the V.I. Education Department and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources joined members of the St. John Coastal Zone Management Commission Tuesday for a review of design plans for a new St. John public school. Together, along with members of the public, those officials heard from leaders of the group charged with carrying out a master plan to restore schools throughout the territory.
Throughout the public portion of Tuesday’s discussion — conducted online — a mock-up of the new Julius E. Sprauve School complex just off Rt. 10 Centerline Road in Estate Catherineberg. Participants commended the work of DLR Group architect Pam Loeffelman and the project management team.
But commission members and other participants questioned the lack of outdoor recreation space for students.
DLR Group is responsible for creating and carrying out an educational facilities master plan, according to an agreement reached with the Department of Education in March 2020.
St. John CZM Chair Andrew Penn told the presenters he understood the limitations of available land around the complex, but pointed to the several comments made about the need for outdoor activity space and expanded parking. “We have to make some compromises when it comes to the athletic field and additional parking,” Penn said.
St. John resident Sandra Miller called the lack of outdoor playing fields a major concern.
Coastal Zone Management Director Marlon Hibbert led an extensive line of questioning about infrastructure at the site. Many of his questions dealt with water resource management, the capacity of on-site cisterns, wastewater management and flood mitigation designs. The design team described the holding basins, backup power systems and the wastewater treatment plant’s holding capacity.
Questions were also raised by Assistant CZM Director Gregory Richards about drinking water storage capacity, given the proposed complex’s secondary function as an emergency shelter.
There were also questions about how soon the relocation of Sprauve School could be completed and when students could occupy the new public school.
Project managers said they could not say for sure, but indicated they were working with a “five-year pipeline” in mind, all of which depends on review and approval by the V.I. government.
“Today’s meeting went really well,” Penn said.
Hibbert reminded participants that the public still has time to submit their questions and opinions about the design phase of the new Sprauve School complex. Those who wish to do so were invited to contact the Coastal Zone Management Division at DPNR within seven business days.
