Property owner’s complaint could delay Liberty High School

IOWA CITY - A property owner's attempt to prevent a new sewer line from crossing his land could delay construction of Liberty High School, Iowa City superintendent Stephen Murley said Monday.

Coralville resident Gary Weinman filed a petition with the Johnson County District Court on Nov. 26 to stop the city of North Liberty from running a sewer line across his property, 3115 12th Ave., Coralville. The sewer line would in part serve the Liberty High School, which is due to open in August 2017.

But construction of the high school, which is scheduled to begin in the spring, could be delayed if Weinman's complaint is not resolved soon, Murley said. That would mean the school would not open until the fall of 2018, he said.

'If we miss a substantial part of the building season (in 2015) - if we're not able to go out to bid until late spring early summer - we'll be a whole year behind,” Murley said. 'If we can't open that building up in 2017 like we plan on, we're going to be significantly crowded at both of our high schools.”

Murley said the district doesn't actually need to connect to the sewer line, under the current construction schedule, until late 2015 or early 2016. But uncertainty about when the sewer line will be available - and, therefore, how long the project will take overall - means bids for the construction could be inaccurate, Murley said.

As a result, he said, the district will wait to request bids for the construction until Weinman's complaint is resolved.

'That one year gap (between fall 2017 and fall 2018) is a pretty significant cost variable for (contractors),” Murley said. 'It makes it really hard for them to bid that project.”

The complaint also could delay renovations planned for West High School, Murley added, because the district planned to move some West students to Liberty High School while West was under construction.

Weinman's petition details several concerns with the proposed sewer line, including the protection of ornate box turtles and Indiana bats and possible damage to Muddy Creek, which runs through the property. The complaint also suggests that an alternate route for the sewer line is available to the city.

North Liberty city administrator Ryan Heiar said the city explored another route but determined that it is not a viable option. The alternate route would cost an additional $1.5 million to build, he said, and its depth - 50 to 60 feet - would make any future repairs more expensive.

'Sewer lines go in the ground,” Heiar said. 'That's just where they go.”

Weinman's complaint also alleges that the city did not do a proper environmental impact study before moving forward with the project. Heiar said that's not true.

'We've done an environmental wetlands study (and) had the (Army) Corps of Engineers review that study,” Heiar said. 'Their statement is that they have no reason to be concerned at this point.”

The state Department of Natural Resources, Heiar added, is still reviewing the case.

Delaying the school's construction could increase costs for the district, Murley said, because of the inflation of construction costs. He said the district will wait to see how Weinman's petition proceeds before joining the case, because having litigation on its record could make selling bonds to finance the construction more expensive, as well.

The North Liberty City Council held a public hearing about the project with Weinman and the owners of seven other properties on Dec. 9.

The next step for the city is to file an answer to Weinman's complaint, according to the city's lawyer, Scott Peterson.

'We have a disagreement about the underlying facts, as well as the law, that's set out in (Weinman's) petition,” Peterson said.

Attempts to reach Weinman were unsuccessful. Weinman's lawyer, Richard Pundt of Cedar Rapids, did not return requests for comment.