Commission: Close off part of Holly Street

CELINA - Celina Planning commissioners on Thursday night recommended to vacate a portion of Holly Street to accommodate the design of the new 7-12 school building which is expected to start going up next summer.

The proposal to permanently close a section of Holly Street between East Wayne Street and Johnson Avenue -- used by many motorists as a shortcut to the residential neighborhoods to the north - now advances to city council for a vote.

Should councilors give their blessing to the request, the section of street would likely not be vacated until next summer, commissioners learned.

"We're asking for approval to vacate that so we can continue with the design of the proposed 7-12 building on that campus setting," said Nancy Tobe of Access Engineering Solutions. "It would ask for the vacation of Holly Street so we can connect both sides of the roadway and make it an overall campus."

Tobe said she and others have met with city officials several times to discuss vacating the street that runs between the primary school and high school and past the middle school.

"There's no houses right there," said mayor and planning commissioner Jeff Hazel. "Residents would have to find an alternative route instead of cutting in-between the schools, but it does make it much safer."

From a city standpoint, the street vacation would not represent a major hardship, Hazel said.

"We're looking to support the schools and the safety of their campus," he added.

Commissioner Sharon Poor asked how the vacation would affect parents and bus drivers who pick up and drop off children at school.

"My main concern is shutting off the access to the high school, because if you've ever picked up a child at the high school, that is a major cluster, and when you're going to shut that off, there's not going to be that access in front of the high school for buses to get through, for parents to get through," she said.

Kathy Trejo of Garmann Miller, the school building project architect, said the new facility would be placed over what is now Holly Street and the pick up/drop off arrangement completely changed.

"We're going to allow for buses to come in from the back, students to come in from one corner, parents to come in from another corner, to completely fix that situation that you're describing," Trejo told Poor.

Commissioner Tom Hone said he was surprised no one from the public came to the meeting to address the vacation request. City engineer Vince Barnhart said property owners near the street were notified about the meeting.

"In my mind, this is a big deal," Hone said.

"It is a big deal," Hazel replied. "If we had houses on one side, it would be a no go."

Plus, residents will have the chance to raise concerns about the vacation to city councilors before they eventually vote on the request, Hazel added.

"I get the idea," Hone said. "It's just that I know once you lose streets, it's like losing any public property or right-of-way of any kind. Once it's gone, it's gone for good."

Commissioners then unanimously moved to recommend in favor of the vacation.

Asked about the middle school, Matt Hibner of Garmann Miller said the building will be repurposed as part of the overall building project.

"The plan is to use that space for district offices, Head Start program and various other extracurricular activities," he said. "The plan is to keep that building in its entirety."

Last month, Phil Metz, Celina City Schools facility director, said the new pre-K-sixth grade facility, which will include a 115,000-square-foot addition to the existing Celina Intermediate School building at 227 Portland Street, is under budget and on schedule.

"The new building addition of the Celina Elementary School has progressed well since breaking ground in October 2022 with an anticipated completion date of summer of 2024 when partial occupancy will occur," Metz said in a news release. "Renovations of the existing Intermediate Building will continue through the fall of 2024. Abatement and demolition of the existing West Building will occur in the spring and summer of 2025, and all remaining site construction will be completed prior to the start of school in 2025."

Preliminary design of the future 7-12 school began in the summer after a series of education visioning sessions with district stakeholders and project partners, Metz said.

"It was determined early in the process that inflation and market conditions impacted the High School/Middle School building budget more than the Elementary School project budget," he said.

Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, Garmann Miller and construction manager Peterson Construction evaluated cost-saving efforts to help get the building project back on budget, according to Metz.
  "Measures include developing a more-efficient three-story design in lieu of a two-story design, combining the auditorium and student dining spaces together, and evaluating all academic and extra-curricular spaces to ensure that spaces are adequately sized and programmed efficiently," he said.