The Annandale City Council has approved a final site plan and a permit for construction of a new elementary school, which will be located on property behind the current Bendix Elementary School building at 655 Park Street East.
The council held a public hearing and met in special session last Monday night, along with representatives from the Annandale School District and its architectural and engineering firms.
"We’ve been working on it for two-and-a-half months and have arrived at what we believe is the final plan," said Supt. Steve Niklaus.
City officials okayed vacating part of the drainage and utility easements along the school property after receiving assurances that storm water and groundwater will not negatively impact neighboring properties.
A portion of the vacated easement runs south of the school building and allows the district to minimize the length of pipe being added for utilities. It also leaves room for future growth and expansion, such as the addition of classrooms.
The only change in the construction plan calls for a bus lane to be moved further east of the building than originally presented. Original plans would have required students to cross the bus lane in order to get to a playground area. Moving the bus lane means students won’t have to cross any lanes of traffic.
In other action, the city council:
– Approved the sale of $1,620,000 in general obligation refunding bonds. The result of the bond sale should save the city 3.726 percent, or slightly more than $67,000.
– Approved a request from the owners of the Annandale Roadhouse to host a street dance behind the business on Saturday, Sept. 3.
The dance will end at 12 midnight, the alley behind the Annandale Roadhouse will remain open for emergency vehicles and the parking lot will be cleaned immediately following conclusion of the dance.
– Approved a request by Dale Miller of Tootsie’s Bar and Grill to block a portion of the street in front of the business and sell beer outside within an established area for several hours on Saturday, Sept. 10, when it hosts several hundred motorcycle riders as part of a breast cancer bike run.