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38002.com
Arlington & Lakeland’s Community Newspaper
January 2015
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theview
“The Sooner, The Better”
Lakeland Moves Ahead with Plans, Site Selection for Lakeland Prep Project
By Terry Louderback
Emotions
ran
strong as speakers at
the December 11
Lakeland Board of
Commissioners
Meeting asked the
city’s elected officials to move forward with the
$50,000,000 middle/
high school project,
seen as key to the
suburb’s
future
growth. Other residents called for the
board to allow a
public referendum
on the issuance of
bonds to fund the
project or to delay
the project for a few
years.
A supporter of
the Lakeland Prep
project, Lakeland
Mayor Wyatt Bunker was alone
among the elected
officials in his willingness to allow a
special referendum
on the bond issue.
“An item this size
($50 million) on this
many
people
(12,000) should go
to a public vote,”
Bunker
stated,
adding that he has
no fears about it
passing.
Bunker’s resolution to call for a
special
election
failed, however,
when none of the
commissioners
seconded his motion. Ultimately,
Commissioner
Randy Nicholson
reflected the view of
the board when he
agreed with com-
Old Brownsville Road
0
ay 7
ghw
Hi
Canada Road
Staff Photos
The proposed site for Lakeland Prep, a project to construct a 262,000 square
foot middle/high school in Lakeland lies just north of Highway 70 and east of
Canada Road. Access to the site will include public streets from Canada Road
and Old Brownsville Road, as well as a future connector to Highway 70.
ments about the
uncertainty of Lakeland’s secondary
school
bringing
harm to the community. “If we wait 3-4
years to be sure, I
don't think parents
will wait,” said
Nicholson.
The resolution
“authorizing the
issuance of not to
exceed fifty million
dollars (of general
obligation school
bonds of the City of
Lakeland, Tennessee” passed unanimously with Bunker
abstaining.
How that $50
million will be spent
in building and
furnishing Lakeland
Prep was detailed in
the Lakeland School
System’s Five Year
Capital Improvement Plan (see page
2), also approved by
the Board of Commissioners at the
December 11 meeting.
Lakeland Prep
supporters got a
better idea of what
$50 million would
look like when
consultant Southern
Educational Services presented a
site recommendation and preliminary
schematic at the
Lakeland School
System (LSS) Board
meeting on January
5.
The schematic
shows a single academic
building
situated on the west
side of the property
with athletic fields
primarily clustered
on
eastern side
along Scotts Creek.
The design em-
phasizes retaining “ e n v i r o n m e n t a l
over 18 acres of study area” that is
green space and planned to enhance
natural treeline,
including a 2-acre Continued on next page
Special Election Update
As per Tennessee law, opponents to the
bond issuance had a 20-day window after
the publication of the bond notice on
December 16, 2014 to gather 827 signatures (10% of the number of registered
Lakeland voters on that date) from registered voters in Lakeland in order to force a
referendum on the issue. According to the
Shelby County Election Commission, the
petition and signatures were delivered to
Lakeland as required and subsequently the
City of Lakeland delivered them to the
Shelby County Election Commission on
January 6, 2015.
The Election Commission has 15 days,
or until January 21, to certify the signatures. The certification of signatures will
be reported to the City of Lakeland and
they will determine the timeline as to how
things will proceed at that point. has until
January 21 to certify the signatures and no
date for a special election has been set.
Inside this edition...
All eyes were on
38002 as Arlington
Hosted Penny
Hardaway’s Hoopfest
with live ESPN
coverage. More
photos on page 11
Meet Arlington’s New Librarian — p 4
Arlington Town News — p 5
Seniors — p 7
School News — starts on p 8
Views of 38002 Photo Page — p 12