HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-08-10 Jen Gillenwater
Charlene Way
From:Chris Johnson
Sent:Wednesday, August 16, 2023 9:08 AM
To:Charlene Way
Subject:FW: URGENT: MERIDIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL OPENING DELAYED - PLEASE HELP
For the record.
Thanks,
Chris
From: Robert Simison <rsimison@meridiancity.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2023 8:53 AM
To: jen@bgilly.com
Cc: David Miles <dmiles@meridiancity.org>; Sonya Allen <sallen@meridiancity.org>; Bill Parsons
<bparsons@meridiancity.org>; Caleb Hood <chood@meridiancity.org>; don@boisedev.com; bhunsaker@sbgtv.com;
7Investigates@ktvb.com; Chris Johnson <cjohnson@meridiancity.org>; Bill Nary <bnary@meridiancity.org>; Bruce
Freckleton <bfreckleton@meridiancity.org>
Subject: RE: URGENT: MERIDIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL OPENING DELAYED - PLEASE HELP
Jen,
I know this is frustrating for the parents and I appreciate you outlining steps you would like to see.
So you are aware, the time elements regarding the necessary public hearings before the Planning and Zoning
Commission and City Council are stipulated in state law and we are not allowed to waive or speed up the requirements.
They exist so that the public has the right to provide comment and feedback on land use applications. And, as this is an
open application, neither myself nor the City Council can comment as to the application itself. We will also include your
email and this response in the record.
What I do know is that our Community Development Department is working with the applicant to move the application
forward and will do what they can to advance through the process as quickly as possible. I encourage you to work with
Mr. Freckleton or with representatives of the Village Leadership Academy for any updates.
Respectfully,
Mayor Robert Simison
City of Meridian
All e-mail messages sent to or received by City of Meridian e-mail accounts are subject to the Idaho law,
in regards to both release and retention, and may be released upon request, unless exempt from disclosure by law.
From: Jen Gillenwater <gingimop@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, August 14, 2023 5:51 PM
To: Bruce Freckleton <bfreckleton@meridiancity.org>
Cc: jen@bgilly.com; David Miles <dmiles@meridiancity.org>; Sonya Allen <sallen@meridiancity.org>; Bill Parsons
<bparsons@meridiancity.org>; Caleb Hood <chood@meridiancity.org>; don@boisedev.com; bhunsaker@sbgtv.com;
7Investigates@ktvb.com; Robert Simison <rsimison@meridiancity.org>
Subject: Re: URGENT: MERIDIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL OPENING DELAYED - PLEASE HELP
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Hi Bruce and Mr Mayor,
COVID was hard enough on students, please don't let them suffer again because of a permitting delay at The City of
Meridian. There are 260 students plus faculty who were supposed to start public school at The Village Leadership
Academy (VLA) today, then their opening got pushed back to September 5, and now no one has a clue when VLA will
open. This doesn't have to happen.
What do you think will happen if this school doesn't open until mid to late October, or later? What do those 260
students, their parents, and faculty do in the meantime? The school administration doesn't know, hence my emails to
you.
According to the screenshot below, it appears there are 4 or 5 more steps VLA has to go through to get a completed
application and to open their school. There has to be a way to get this school open by September 5. Below are my
recommendations on how to make that happen:
Step 1 - Make a special exception to get VLA on the schedule for the Thursday, August 17 Planning and Zoning Hearing
(that is currently scheduled for September 7). https://apps.meridiancity.org/phnotices/
Step 2 - Make a special exception and allow VLA to get on the schedule now for the Tuesday, August 22 City Council
Hearing.
Step 3 - Get the Final Action and GIS Final Review on the schedule to both happen on Friday, August 25.
Step 4 - Email Candie Massey at VLA letting her know you're handling things and VLA can open on September 5.
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On Thu, Aug 10, 2023 at 5:44 PM Jen Gillenwater <gingimop@gmail.com> wrote:
Thank you for the update Bruce, much appreciated!
I see that it was just today that The Village Leadership Academy received this letter letting them know their P&Z
Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 7 at 6pm. I see that the next P&Z Commission meeting is
scheduled for Thursday, August 17. How can this school get on the August 17 meeting schedule? Alternatively, what
can be done to get this school on the schedule for a special one-off meeting ASAP? There are currently 260 elementary
and middle school students with no school to go to and no start date in sight, plus the faculty members who support
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those students and rely on that paycheck. There has to be something that can be done to push this project through
faster.
I sincerely appreciate your time and feedback and look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards,
Jen
On Thu, Aug 10, 2023 at 3:45 PM Bruce Freckleton <bfreckleton@meridiancity.org> wrote:
Good afternoon Ms. Gillenwater,
I wanted to follow back up with you regarding the proposed Village Learning Academy at 3006 E. Goldstone
Drive. Our staff has been engaged with the applicants, to help guide them through the application and approval
process, since early June. The school’s required application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) has been scheduled in
th
front of the Meridian Planning & Zoning Commission on September 7. I would recommend that you stay in contact
with the school’s administration on the status of approvals.
Respectfully,
Bruce
Bruce Freckleton, Director
Community Development Department
From: Jen Gillenwater <gingimop@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 9, 2023 5:35 PM
To: Bruce Freckleton <bfreckleton@meridiancity.org>; Bret Caulder <bcaulder@meridiancity.org>; Kegan Aman
<kaman@meridiancity.org>; Robert Simison <rsimison@meridiancity.org>; don@boisedev.com;
bhunsaker@sbgtv.com; 7Investigates@ktvb.com
Subject: URGENT: MERIDIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL OPENING DELAYED - PLEASE HELP
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The Village Leadership Academy charter school is delayed in opening their school this fall, please help!
The Village Leadership Academy is in the process of relocating to 3006 E Goldstone Dr., Meridian but, per a school
administrator, their opening is delayed due to "a checklist that is submitted for city approval and is currently out of
\[their\] control. It has the potential to push the building completion by roughly a month."
They've already had to push the school start date back once - school was supposed to start this Monday August 14.
They are now trying to start school on September 5, but with this city approval delay they are looking at starting about
October 5. This is going to impact about 260 elementary and middle school students.
Anything you can do to help this school obtain the approvals necessary to open their doors would be greatly
appreciated by everyone involved!
Sincerely,
Parent of an incoming Kindergartener at Village Leadership Academy
All e-mail messages sent to or received by City of Meridian e-mail accounts are subject to the Idaho law, in regards to
both release and retention, and may be released upon request, unless exempt from disclosure by law.
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