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Lack of water/sewer lines could delay Coddle Creek opening

Chyna Broadnax | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | Nov. 16, 2007

The odds of the new Coddle Creek Elementary School in Mooresville opening on time in August 2009 appear to be slim to none.

Town of Mooresville officials have informed Iredell-Statesville Schools that the town will be unable to supply the school—which is to be built on Presbyterian Road in southernmost Mooresville—with a water and sewer line in time for the school to open as scheduled.

Town Commissioner-at-Large Frank Rader said the town is not to blame. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is responsible for issuing permits for the project, which appears to be the major hold-up.

“We’re not in control over the decision,” Rader said. “It’s a matter of permitting, to put it simply.”

After receiving the information, I-SS officials began exploring alternative ways to provide water and sewer service to the school on a temporary basis.

I-SS spokeswoman Dawn Creason said Coddle Creek is a priority for Phase II construction because “we already have an overcrowding issue.“

Delaying the project will not only have an impact on the district’s ability to be on schedule, but will have a financial effect as well, she said.

“With every year we delay construction, the cost of the project can go up drastically,” she explained.

Every year the project is delayed would add from 8 to 10 percent to the bottom line, she said.

Because the district plans to begin the construction bidding process by Jan. 24, the Board of Education has to make a decision on how to proceed by Dec. 3.

Coddle Creek, which will replace Mt. Mourne Elementary, will cost about $16 million. The new school would have a capacity of around 950 students; Mt. Mourne serves around 600.

The new school would not only house Mt. Mourne students, but also other students within the district would be pulled in to alleviate overcrowding at other schools.

“Postponing the project is detrimental because of growth. Every school we have in the south end is over capacity,” said Rob Jackson, I-SS director of construction.

I-SS purchased 72 acres in August 2005 for $20,000 per acre for the future construction of Coddle Creek.

Superintendent Terry Holliday said the district thought it was an ideal piece of land. “We purchased it because we fully anticipated a full line of water and sewer,” he explained.

Waiting for Mooresville to run water and sewer could delay the project until 2012.

“We have no guarantees on when that line will be up and running,” he said. “The information from (the Town of Mooresville) is sketchy at best, and I have little faith in the promises made by the Mooresville staff.“

Holliday said the district will not rely on outside entities, but will go with what they can control.

The district’s best option, Holliday said, is to install its own drain fields. That would add to the cost and could result in reducing the school’s capacity, he said.

I-SS appears to have three options:

Option One: Install a pump-and-haul process in which sewage would be pumped out. This process would cost $28,000 per month for 10 months, with an initial installation cost of $42,000.

Option Two: Build its own water/sewer lines, which would cost nearly $400,000. This option would eliminate additional playing fields at the site that would be used by the Mooresville Recreation Department.

Option Three: Wait for the Town of Mooresville to build the water/sewer line. Delaying the project would cost from $800,000 to $1.1 million per year.

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