Berkeley County Schools and City of Goose Creek Land Exchange
June 15, 2015
MONCKS CORNER, SC – Collaboration and community were the topics on which Berkeley County School Deputy Superintendent, Archie Franchini, and Goose Creek Mayor, Dr. Michael Heitzler, focused when they met on Monday, June 8, 2015, to discuss and sign a land exchange agreement. The land exchange will benefit students at Boulder Bluff Elementary School as well as the entire Goose Creek community.
Berkeley County School District exchanged approximately 20.755 acres, much of which are wetlands, for approximately 3.605 acres from the City of Goose Creek.
Explaining the opportunities associated with the exchange, Dr. Heitzler said, “Our city administrator has been working on this for 15 years, trying to get all of the pieces together. This area is an old plantation that we’ll be able to bring to life again for boys and girls to explore under the supervision of their teachers, so it’s educational. Some of the young children who dug up silverware under my supervision so long ago are now about 50 years old. Also, the folks who live in that area have asked, ‘what are we going to do about that baseball park, so they will be excited about opportunities for their children. It’s just an exciting thing!”
Deputy Superintendent Franchini talked about the benefits of the exchange. He said, “This is a win-win for the school district and the city, but most of all for the community. With this exchange, we will be able to alleviate the traffic problems we have with morning drop off and afternoon pick-up at Boulder Bluff, which has been a safety issue because of all the vehicles lined up in the mornings and afternoons. This community, the young people and adults, will benefit from this as well. They’ll have access to green space and opportunities that did not exist before. We are extremely appreciative of the city working with the school district in this endeavor. It shows just how much folks can do when they work together.”
Mutually beneficial for Berkeley County School District and the City of Goose Creek, the land exchange will improve the flow of traffic around Boulder Bluff Elementary School, allowing a new and more efficient student drop-off and pick-up route to be constructed. The entrance to the new route will be on Amy Drive, with traffic progressing to the side and front of the school. The additional land will enable the route to increase from approximately 450 linear square feet to approximately 2,400 linear square feet, exceeding the South Carolina Department of Transportation’s recommended minimum of 1,500 to 2,000 linear square feet. In addition to the new student pick-up and drop-off route, the land exchange will add 20 more parking spaces to the school to relieve parking shortages.
Excited about the collaboration and exchange, Boulder Bluff Elementary School Principal, Andrea Salters, said, “We are extremely appreciative and would like to commend the City of Goose Creek for thinking of what is best for our students. This is another example of the great partnership our school has with the City of Goose Creek.”
Likewise, the exchange will enable the City of Goose Creek to create a new public park and green space for Goose Creek residents. The city will use land near Dennis Drive, Judy Drive, Anita Drive and Anne Street to create the new park, which will include two pavilions, a playground, baseball fields, a nature trail, a wetlands boardwalk as well as two parking areas for visitors.
Goose Creek City Administrator, Dennis Harmon said, “The real winner in this is the community; the school community, the folks who live there and those who will use the park in conjunction with the school. Mr. Franchini mentioned safety considerations. We deal with those safety considerations from a law enforcement point of view and this exchange, in terms of traffic control, is going to assist us as well as make the area a safer place.”
The changes to the student drop-off and pick-up route at Boulder Bluff Elementary are scheduled for completion 18 months from the time the work begins. The new public park in Goose Creek is scheduled to be completed within five years.
