Published: July 05, 2008 10:34 pm      

Easley determined to stop new high school site

As an orthopedic surgeon and practitioner of sports medicine in Dalton, Conrad Easley has built up a lifetime good will in the Whitfield-Murray area.

But as a property owner and concerned citizen, he is now leading the fight against siting the new Whitfield County high school near Prater’s Mill outside of Varnell.

“I serve on the board of directors of the mill (Prater’s Mill) and the (Prater’s Mill) foundation,” Easley said, “and I’m also the president of Lake Francis Inc. (a property owners association). Judy Alderman (of the Prater’s Mill board) called to let me know what was planned next door, so I had a dual responsibility as a member of the community to investigate. ”

Easley now leads an additional group of citizens formed to oppose the planned high school, the Concerned Citizens of the Prater’s Mill Community and Whitfield County, Georgia.

Easley has been a property owner in the Lake Francis community that sits across Ga. Highway 2 from the proposed high school site since 1992. Like most other residents there, he is a “part-timer” whose primary residence is elsewhere. In fact, there is only one full-time resident in the enclave. There are 20 members and 18 cottages represented in the Lake Francis Association, he says, but adds that many other residents in the community near the lake have contacted him with their concerns about the proposed site.

“I have written letters to the (Whitfield) Board of Commissioners, and have spoken to the commissioners,” he said. “I know the Board of Education has the authority to select school sites, and I do not have anything personal against any individual, but with that authority comes accountability.”

Easley appears to have done his homework: It can be seen in his office in stacks of files, notebooks and note cards jammed with information about the site and Prater’s Mill.

“I’ve walked the site with a civil engineer, and he told me it’s not the best site,” he said.

That engineer and surveyor is Lovick Evans of LCE Engineers in Roswell.

“The site selection process said the project would be on public sewer, and it appears there will be no guarantee of that,” Evans said. “I believe the project was unfairly given a higher rating (regarding site selection) because of the sewer.”

Evans also said the entrance off a scenic byway, Highway 2, was not mentioned on the application; that entrance has been brought into an area “with horrible sight distance”; and that the topography of the site has “significant slopes” necessitating higher excavation costs.

Easley believes accountability has been neglected by the Board of Education, and he specifies two areas.

“Number one is site assessment,” he said. “I believe a significant amount of data sent by Whitfield County Schools to the state Department of Education was inaccurate, flawed, erroneous and incorrect.”

George Smalley, assistant superintendent of operations for the school system, said the state Department of Education approved the site for “suitability” in the late fall of 2007 and gave clearance to build. In a staff analysis, the North Georgia Regional Development Center recommended the site be given a permit to build, but with conditions addressed such as traffic, the profile of the building and lighting, and keeping a buffer of trees between the school and the highway.

Describing himself as an “amateur historian,” Easley also is concerned about the heritage of the mill.

“This is a historic site that is important to tie in with tourism,” he said. “Tourism is now the No. 2 producer of revenue in Georgia, and carpet may never come back. This is a place to get away from it all, and it also affects our family and friends who spend time out there.

“Could this be seen as a bunch of rich folks who don’t want their place disturbed? That’s part of it, although I certainly don’t consider myself rich as a working doctor. But there are very few Prater’s Mills left.”

Peter Olson of the law firm Jenkins & Olson of Cartersville is representing the citizens group.

“We’ve written to the state Board of Education requesting a hearing, and they wrote back saying they wouldn’t consider an appeal (to revoke the permit to build),” he said. “They told us we’d have to go back to the local board.”

Olson said a letter has been sent to the school board requesting a hearing but he has not heard back. Depending on the outcome of that hearing, the group could then appeal to the state board.

“If there is no hearing (because the Whitfield board denies it), my recommendation would be to file an action demanding a hearing,” he said, adding that a legal action of that nature would take place in the local Superior Court.

Olson said he plans to demonstrate that a new high school is not necessary, the chosen location is a poor one, and that the state’s selection criteria were not met.

Included in those arguments are claims that the demographics and economics of the county are changing for the negative, the development costs of the site would be excessive because of topography, and deficiencies in the site selection criteria alleged by Evans.

“We’re a litigation firm,” Olson said, “and we’re not afraid to tangle with governments and boards of education.”

“We’ve got 400 kids in the parking lot and grass (in modular units) at Northwest Whitfield,” said Tim Trew, chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Education. “Transportation costs are breaking our back, and (the proposed high school) is right in the middle of where 1,100 kids are right now. Demographics might change some, but we can’t go back and pull numbers every three months and then change things around. We’re showing a 2-1/2 percent change in growth overall for the new (school) year.”

Trew said the school system had forwarded the request for a hearing to Harbin and Hartley law firm in Gainesville, the school system’s attorneys.