‘Not a good neighbor’ Lexington councilman blasts school board over new high school
A Lexington councilman who represents neighborhoods surrounding the new Tates Creek High School blasted Fayette County Public School officials this week for poor planning and communication after the city and state raised concerns over environmental violations connected to the construction.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman Fred Brown said during a Tuesday council work session that a notice of violations to D.W. Wilburn — the contractor for the new $88 million high school — regarding stormwater runoff was the latest in a series of problems connected to the construction.
“The Fayette County School Board has not been a good neighbor and has not communicated with the neighbors or myself in a fair and timely manner,” Brown said Tuesday.
“Where is the accountability?” he said.
The problems started last April when state education officials and the school board agreed to expand the footprint for the new school with limited neighborhood input, Brown said.
The school system held a virtual meeting with the neighborhood last spring during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic but that was not enough, Brown said.
Clear-cutting of trees along the property border created a lot of concerns about stormwater runoff, he said.
Brown said neighbors have also complained repeatedly about construction noise.
Fayette County taxpayers are paying for the high school but have had limited input on decisions regarding it, Brown said.
“The Fayette County School Board must take full responsibility for the neglect of that construction,” Brown said. “The $88 million high school was a bad idea from the very start. There was not enough land to build this large of a school.”
Lisa Deffendall, a spokeswoman for the school system, said the day-to-day operations of the construction of the high school are overseen by D.W. Wilburn. The district posts regular updates on the construction on its website to keep everyone informed.
“Just like a home renovation project causes short-term disruption for a long-term benefit, there are inconveniences like noise that cannot be avoided by those who live close to the job site,” Deffendall said.
“During the construction process, FCPS has turned day-to-day operations of the site over to our general contractor D.W. Wilburn, who has the sole responsibility for addressing all construction, safety and environmental control issues such as those that recently occurred,” Deffendall said. “ As such, we have shared any complaints received and issues raised with them..”
The new school is being built on land behind the current high school off Centre Parkway. Originally, the current high school was going to be remodeled and expanded. Those plans were scrapped.
Since December, D.W. Wilburn has been issued two notices of violation by city water quality inspectors, according to city records. The violations stem from debris entering a creek that borders the high schoolproperty. In January, city inspectors found a silt fence and check dam, designed to stop runoff, had failed. A follow-up inspection in late January found the dam and fence had been fixed but a straight pipe inserted under a dam was dischargingslurry directly into the creek. The discharge was from boring for a new geothermal heating system.
State Division of Water inspectors were also called to the site because of the contents of the slurry, said Charlie Martin, the director of the city’s Division of Water Quality.
No fines have been levied against the contractor, Martin said during Tuesday’s council work session. The case has been turned over to the city’s enforcement division, which could levy a fine if the issues are not corrected, Martin said.
“They are making a strong effort to bring that site back into compliance,” Martin said of Wilburn. A follow-up inspection with the state Division of Water is expected soon, he said during Tuesday’s meeting.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 11:23 AM.
