Is the City using approval for the Riversbend rezoning project as a trade-off to accomplish certain CIP projects sooner? That was the impression I had when leaving the Education Committee earlier this week.
This Education Committee is made up of School Board members and Council Members and allows them to meet in a smaller group to discuss issues that impact both bodies. The committee has no power to vote on any issue, but it gives them a chance to discuss issues in more depth. The CIP is the Capital Improvements Program published by the City of Suffolk each year to establish long-term, high-cost investments in public infrastructure and facilities. The City is about to finalize the CIP for 2027.
About 40 minutes into the meeting, Council Member Ebony Wright stated:
“So what I would like to start with is, I want to acknowledge that Nansemond has moved up. So. So, I think we are making progress. So we moved that, it looks like two years now. So that’s great progress, but it’s still far from where we need to be. [Unable to understand] acknowledge that. We are making progress and I think that as we evolve with our CIP we’ll find other opportunities to possibly move it up again. I think you’d probably get that support if other opportunities present itself.”
This comment was interesting because the new CIP includes $7.6 million for the Suffolk Public Schools administration building (down from the previous CIP amount of $22 million). When they were considering a new build on the same site as the school district operation center on Pruden Blvd, it was estimated at $22 million. However, in the Riversbend project (Ryan Homes development of 500 new homes on N Main Street), the developer proffered to donate the old VDOT admin building in lieu of paying actual cash school proffers for the specific purpose as an administration building for the Suffolk Public Schools, and coincidentally, $7.6 million is the estimated cost for renovating that old building. It appears that the CIP has been adjusted in the anticipation that City Council will approve the Riversbend rezoning.
Interestingly, at the same time that the renovation costs for the Riversbend donated building has been put into CIP, the Nansemond River High School addition project has just been moved up by two years–meaning it is two years closer to being built.
In no way am I against the expansion of Nansemond River High School. However, that project should not come with the baggage of increasing the strain at two other schools if 500 new homes are added to Main Street.
So I question again, are these linked? Is there a trade-off going on here? It sure looks that way from where I am sitting.