During Monday’s BOE meeting at Creekside members of the Dexter Board of Education discussed a current disagreement between the city and the district regarding the placement of an extension of the Border-2-Border (B2B) trail.
The city maintains that they received a letter of support from the school district regarding the trail extension in October 2017, and subsequently applied for and received grants with that understanding. The criteria for these grants state that the trail needs access to Baker Road, and the city’s current design places the trail north of the Creekside playing fields, along the stream by the lot where the Lions Club sell their Christmas trees.
Board member Barbara Read countered that the city made plans with a “non-binding, non-specific letter of support” for the trail, which is not a contract.
Ron Darr and Dick Lundy, both board members on the Facilities Committee, stated they were not aware that city plans placed the trail on school property until approximately two months ago. At their April 11 meeting, the Facilities Committee moved that, “DCS has been committed to the security of our kids and our property. The proposed location does not meet the criteria and does not maintain this commitment to security.”
The committee has suggested an alternative location north of Jenkins Early Childhood Learning Center, at the edge of DCS property approximately 50 yards north of the current proposed location, which they feel still meets the city’s criteria.
Both the school board and Mayor Keough expressed an interest in collaborating to solve the issue. Board President Michael Wendorf suggested that members of the Facilities Committee and city representatives meet within the next several days to walk the potential sites and further discuss solutions.
The next Dexter Board of Education meeting is scheduled for May 6 at the Creekside Intermediate Media Center, with a community chat at 6 p.m. and meeting at 7 p.m.
