District defends Miller site after earlier backlash over Ty Warner option

District representatives said the Miller site was chosen after evaluating multiple options and responding to community feedback that earlier proposals — including a Ty Warner property — were unpopular. The presenter said the Miller footprint, with signed agreements from six of seven homeowners contingent on a successful referendum, can accommodate required circulation, bus bays and a parent carline that would be routed off the main city street.

"We have written agreement with six of the seven homeowners and the seventh one is not a no but just not committed," the superintendent said to explain how the district avoided eminent domain. Residents who live across from the proposed footprint said they are concerned about peak-period traffic and two years of construction; one resident asked for clarity on duration and start date and was told the district anticipates breaking ground in fall 2027 with completion by fall 2029 if the referendum passes.

District officials committed to a traffic study (budgeted at about $16,000) to be completed in late October and said the study results would be published publicly to inform final design and placement of entry points, carlines and bus routes. The architects said community design input would follow study results and that the feasibility images shown were illustrative rather than final.