The Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board has yet again pushed back discussion of the West Sedona School parking lot lease for transit use.
At the SCOSD November board meeting, the city of Sedona’s Director of Public Works Andy Dickey and Transit Administrator Robert Weber presented the proposal to rent West Sedona School’s softball field for $9,800 annually. During that meeting, the board elected to push back the discussion until their December meeting so that all members of the board could attend the site. But the December meeting had no mention of the field.
“Before committing the field to a single-use, we want to observe and collect needs data as the new parking and traffic patterns emerge in the spring,” Superintendent Dennis Dearden said. “As we learn more, we would first examine the use of the existing paved parking in partnership with the city.”
And after SOCSD members expressed their safety concerns for the elementary school students, Dickey and Weber took their next parking lot presentation off of the board’s agenda so that more solutions could be brainstormed in upcoming meetings after the new year.
“As the city is still in lease negotiations for the subject property with the school district, city staff will continue to work with the school district and school board to determine the viability of establishing a trailhead shuttle exchange, or park and ride, at West Sedona School’s ball field,” Weber said after the November SOCSD meeting.
School Board members who have spent years working in the elementary school and stated that they did not feel comfortable with the number of people that the park and ride would bring around the students.
“This includes hearing out any potential safety concerns the school and the board may have. The city hopes a mutually beneficial agreement can be made in order to stay on track to launch trailhead shuttles in the spring of 2022.”
But since the initial discussion, West Sedona School has found an alternative use for the softball field for the Wildcat Extended Day Program, as well other activities during school. This leaves the transit program with the adjacent paved lot.
“In addition to our many activities that are offered indoors for our students this allows us to also offer activities outside on the field directly across from the building we will be housing the after-school program in,” said Dearden. “Right now, the field is used flexibly for a school evacuation site, PE classes and local rental such as the recent Mountain Bike Festival.”
The park and ride would be operational from Thursday through Sunday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The parking lot would be a part of the city’s trailhead shuttle service for the Dry Creek, Mescal and Solider Pass transit system.
Refer to the Nov. 18 article in Sedona Red Rock News for the original story covering the full West Sedona School field rental proposal terms and purposes.
