By Nancy Huddleston and Joanna Miller, Staff Writers

Now that the Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board has unanimously approved a plan to remove SS-9, a rare woodland on bluffs above Prior Lake High School, the city of Savage will roll up its sleeves to explore all the options.

The School Board voted in favor of a resolution Monday night (Feb. 11) to authorize the city of Savage and Prior Lake Aggregates Development Inc. to continue discussions to remove the oak forest. The 6-acre area, known as SS-9, was singled out for preservation when development plans for PLHS were approved five years ago because it was identified in a city-wide natural resources inventory as a high-quality Mesic Oak Forest.

But, as Prior Lake Aggregates has pursued redevelopment options for its gravel pit, which is next door to PLHS, questions have been asked regarding whether the trees should be saved or removed in order to accommodate development and a road between the two sites.

SS-9 contains 1,000 trees and includes a mix of oak, maple, elm and ash trees. There’s also gravel under the area, so in return for being allowed to mine it, Prior Lake Aggregates would grade away the large drop between its property and the school district’s property. That would allow the school district to build more ball fields and allow the city to construct a road that would provide an alternative route to county roads 27 and 44.

The plan between the district and Prior Lake Aggregates would provide athletic field space and road access near the high school, the board explained Monday.

Superintendent Tom Westerhaus said the building committee and the school district’s legal counsel reviewed and approved the resolution before it was brought to the board. The resolution clarified that any alternatives for the project would not tap into district funds.

Putting in a road would eliminate the need to build an estimated 60- to 80-foot-high retaining wall on school property, which board members saw as a concern for student and public safety. The retaining wall would be needed to build the road around SS-9 and between Prior Lake Aggregates and PLHS.

“Personally, I do not like it a bit,” Board Member Tom Anderson said of having a retaining wall bordering school property.

The alternative presented Monday would eliminate the retaining wall, relocate the street right of way and grade the area, thus getting rid of the retaining wall and making space for two new recreational fields.

The new road would incorporate additional parking, too, the board noted.

Board members spoke in favor of the option as a way to gain field use for the city and school programs at no cost to the district.

Prior Lake Aggregates would cover costs for the road and field projects as an in-kind donation, Westerhaus explained.

“This is such a win for the district,” Board Member Chris Lind said of the addition of two soccer fields to the school site.

Anderson said if the trees are removed, new trees will be planted elsewhere at no cost to the district. “As much as I’d hate to see trees cut down, one thing is that they do get replaced,” he said.

Board Member Eric Pratt said the forested area has had some issues as well. “We’re not talking about exactly pristine forest,” he noted.

Westerhaus said the forested area has been subject to Oak Wilt and buckthorn, but it does contain quality oak trees as well. The district would be responsible for forest maintenance costs to curb those problems.

Pratt said the current plan allows the school district to gain needed fields and access.

“It’s much more beneficial to us. We’re given some advantages and some usage of property that we didn’t have before,” he said.

When?

Board Member Michael Murray asked when activity at the site may begin if it gains approval from the city of Savage.

Kristen Pauly, a civil engineer with Prior Lake Aggregates, said, if approved, work on the project could start as early as spring.

But Savage City Administrator Barry Stock said there’s a lot of work to be done, and discussions between all three parties are just getting under way.

“We haven’t seen Prior Lake Aggregates plan yet, so it’s a little hard to determine when things might move forward,” Stock said.

Savage city staff will need to explore the exact steps to begin to consider removal of SS-9 because the original plat for PLHS called for the area to be preserved. Therefore, an amendment to the conditional-use permit originally issued for PLHS would be needed. But before that can take place, city staff needs to look at the Prior Lake Aggregates grading plan, site plan and erosion control measures.

Once the developer and school district have all the “I’s” dotted and “T’s” crossed, the plan must go to the Savage Planning Commission first. Then it moves up to the City Council.

What’s more, Stock said he’d like to solicit input from the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission and the Economic Development Commission because those members were also involved in the city’s natural resources survey and plans for PLHS.

Stock said there will be opportunities for public input at the Planning Commission and City Council meetings.

  Nancy Huddleston can be reached at editor@savagepacer.com. Joanna Miller can be reached at jmiller@swpub.com.