Vienna Elementary School, pictured above, is one of the three sites in the discussion for the land swap between Wood County Board of Education and Vienna City Council. The land swap and the proposition of the new school at Jackson Park were discussed at a town hall Tuesday night. (Photo by Clara Noelle)

VIENNA — After Tyler Eppley, civil engineer and design manager at Pickering and Associates, presented the information about the proposed project at Jackson Park at the Vienna City town hall Tuesday evening, Wood County Board of Education President Justin Raber and Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp were able to give additional information.

The proposed project at Jackson Park would turn a 12 acre plot of land into a new elementary school for students from Neale and Vienna Elementary schools. If this project proceeds, the two elementary schools will be closed down and consolidated into the new elementary school at Jackson Park.

“This is a very exciting project for us,” said Rapp.

The town hall discussion also surrounded the consequential “land swap,” as referred to by Raber. This land swap would take place between the city of Viennal and the school board. Wood County BOE would give the city two sites, one being the Vienna Elementary building and property and the other being a building on Maplewood that is no longer being utilized by Wood County Schools. The property that the building on Maplewood sits on is already owned by the City of Vienna.

During the question and answer section of the town hall, a community member questioned why the Neale Elementary School property was not part of the land swap. Raber explained Wood County Schools is hoping to auction the property if the proposed land swap goes through. Raber noted the property is of high value since it is located on a busy road, the same could not be said about the Vienna Elementary property. Raber noted most of the traffic on 41st Street, the street where Vienna Elementary School is located, is from the school.

Raber proposed, if the land swap goes through, that the City of Vienna use the Vienna Elementary school property for a recreation center.

“Other than the windows, the building is in good shape,” said Rapp.

Rapp also noted plans on bringing an apprenticeship program to the building on Maplewood if the land swap goes through. He said the land swap will provide a good transition for the Vienna and Neale students, as students and teachers would not have to worry about distractions from the building of a new school beside the existing schools.

During the comments section of the town hall, Vienna Volunteer Fire Chief Steve Scholl said there were many safety concerns about the proposed school at Jackson Park, many of them geared towards the overall safety of Rosmar Road.

Scholl said he had a meeting with the West Virginia Department of Highways around six years ago. During this meeting, Scholl recalled the WVDOH representatives saying there needed to be three new turn lanes on Rosemar; one at Twin Lakes, another at Woodland Drive and the third being at Jackson Park Road.

Scholl said he would also like to see the speed limit drop to 45 mph on Rosemar Road as well as a school zone speed drop near Jackson Park. He also reported that in 2024 there have been 63 wrecks on Rosemar Road, 46 of which have only resulted in property damage but 17 have resulted in personal injuries. Scholl went on to say some of the wrecks even resulted in deaths.

“Rosemar traffic concerns me,” said Scholl. “I’m concerned about the kids getting hurt.”

Scholl also requested Eppley ensure there are four fire hydrants on each corner of the school to better ensure fire safety.

After community member Steve Keiser asked about the loss of athletic field parking, Raber ensured the parking at the proposed elementary school would be available to community members and those using the athletic fields.

Clara Noelle can be reached at intern@newsandsentinel.com.