Part 4 of series

The $70 million Northampton Area School District project that would place a new elementary school, administration building and other facilities in a phased development of the 92.32-acre Seemsville tract must clear a number of hurdles if it’s to become a reality.

NASD must present plans, reviews and forms for consideration by East Allen Township officials.

Building a school and facilities on the property at Route 329 and Seemsville Road and closing Moore Elementary School; Franklin Elementary School; the Washington building, which houses the district technology department; and the administration and maintenance buildings is recommended in the NASD Elementary School Options and Facility Improvements report. The report is available on the NASD website, nasdschools.org, under Capital Maintenance/Enrollment Presentation.

This series is based on the report and its presentation at the NASD Board of Education meeting held March 22.

The first three parts of the series were published in Northampton Press April 7 and 21 and May 5. They can be found at lvpnews.com.

The report, which weighed seven options, is based on a December 2019 study by Future Think, a district consultant, and the Capital Maintenance Plan, prepared in 2011 and updated annually by D’Huy Engineering Inc., district projects engineer.

The report is based on annual reviews of district enrollment, demographics, free and reduced-price lunch program, population, school-age population, elementary school boundaries, housing developments, functional capacity of schools, priority index of district facilities’ conditions, transportation and finances.

The NASD school board voted 7-2 at its Feb. 8 meeting to approve an agreement with D’Huy Engineering Inc. to develop a master plan, which includes land development for the Seemsville site, at a cost not to exceed $540,500.

“A step-by-step, diligent evaluation of the Route 329 site will give the district the ability and confidence to consider the most feasible long-term solution,” the report states. “The ability to develop the Route 329 site has always been a challenge.”

Viability of the Seemsville site for school facilities is based on an estimated $4.5 million in improvements to be paid for by JW Development as part of its Northampton Business Center 288-acre warehouse project along Seemsville Road, just north of Route 329.

The NASD school board voted Dec. 3, 2018, to give the warehouse project an easement for a 13.67-acre portion of the Seemsville tract for the improvements, including the realignment of Seemsville Road, a Route 329 traffic light, Seemsville Road and Route 329 turning lanes, a stormwater system and a water and sewer lines extension.

In addition to the 13.67-acre road improvement and basin, the 92.32-acre Seemsville site includes a 15.73-acre conservation zone.

The site master plan includes an elementary school, administration building, separate bus and vehicle entrances, parking for 200 vehicles, bus drop-off for 16 buses, maintenance building, bus parking for 42 buses and athletic fields.

The initial feasibility study and planning began in February and was expected to conclude this month.

The sketch plan process is expected to go before East Allen Township officials June through July.

The remaining NASD borrowing capacity as of June 30 is $96.5 million.

The $70 million project would add $2.6 million debt service annually to the NASD budget. The millage impact would be 2.29 mills over four years, with the average taxpayer impact of $125 over four years or $31.25 per year based on the average residential assessment of $54,600, which includes 50 percent of district taxpayers.

Next: Details of land development timeline