Q. What is the timeline for the whole project?

A. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2023 and be complete summer of 2025 in time for start of school in September.

Q. How will the number of students change over the years ahead?

A. SPS builds two sizes of elementary schools: 500-student or 650-student. One of the criteria for selecting a school for replacement or modernization is the projected need for capacity in the next 75 years. The new building is designed to accommodate 500 students and will have a master plan for an addition that will accommodate 650 students.

Q. How will art from previous years be saved and reinstalled into the new building? 

A. The design team is working with the school and principal to identify what art should be reinstalled.

Q. Where does my student go to school during construction? 

A. John Rogers school will be located at the John Marshall building for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 school years.

Q. Does the design impact 41st Place NE?

A. Students will continue to access the site from 41st place by foot. Depending on your location you may be able to see the new building from your home. No street improvements are currently planned for 41st place.

Q. Are you using geothermal wells to heat and cool the building? 

A. Yes. Geothermal wells will be used.

Q. My property borders the field on the west side. When should we expect the designers to reach out to us?

A. The design team is not proposing any revisions along the west side of the field.

Q. King County sewer is investigating the current lack of capacity to handle stormwater and sewer discharge.  Is there coordination with this project to expand king county piping system?

A. There are no current plans to expand the King County piping system as part of this project. The project will coordinate with King County Sewer as necessary including as a part of the permit review process.

Q. Are the designers aware of the upcoming changes to 41st Place NE to install natural drainage systems?

A. Yes. SPS has been in communication with Seattle Public Utility and is currently coordinating timing on the upcoming Natural Drainage System to be installed on 41st

Q. Will there be lighting at night?

A. Dark sky site lighting is planned. The exterior building-mounted lighting, site lighting, and parking lighting will be on a time schedule set by SPS.

Q. Will there be any sidewalks installed along 105th from Sand Point Way to help kids walking to school?

A. Additional sidewalks at 105th are not currently proposed or required by SDOT.

Q. There was a yellow arrow pointing for extra parking (in the presentation). It looked like it was headed towards 41st Place NE. Is that correct? How will that work?

A. The yellow arrow was used to show that the traffic study completed for the project has shown adequate street parking in areas surrounding the site, even for events, and that there will be multiple pedestrian access points to the site including at 41st.

Comment: I don’t believe there is a significant number of parking spaces along the street of 41st.

A. This is being further reviewed with the Transportation Specialist.

Q. The upper parking lot at the north end will be teacher parking, and accessible by car from 110th street, yes?

Yes. The upper parking lot is for teacher parking and accessible from 110th St.

Q. Will there be any vehicle access from 109th up to 110th, as there is now, or will that only be pedestrian access?

A. There will only be pedestrian access from 109th to 110th.

Comment. 105th cannot accommodate two-way traffic when cars are backed into the parking spaces.

A. 105th is a two-way street per the City of Seattle. The angled parking along the street is not owned by SPS.

Comment. The neighborhood would like you to put in a light at 35th Ave NE and 105th.

A. A light at 35th and 105th is not within the project budget or something controlled by the district.

Comment. A light at 35th and 105th not needed or wanted!

A. A light at 35th and 105th is not within the project budget or something controlled by the district.

Q. How does this project align with the SDOT bridge replacement projects? SDOT is planning to replace the small bridges on 105th (at the SW corner of the site), 110th, 39th (and others). Timeline TBD.

A. The projects are independent, and timelines are not aligned.

Comment. With Nathan Hale using the field for sports, 105th is very unsafe with parking.

A. The angled parking along 105th is not owned by the district.

Q. I was surprised that you’re planning to have cars drive onto the site from 105th and turnaround rather than drop them at 105th. Can the City collaborate on making 105th safer and used for this purpose?

A. The site frontage on 105th and 110th was determined to be too short for offsite pick up and drop off. The project team has worked with the School Traffic Safety Committee to determine the current course of action.

Comment. It’s unfortunate to push parking into neighborhoods when there are no sidewalks to support foot traffic safely.

A. Site constraints, including topography, poor soils, and steep slopes have restricted the amount of the site available for parking and other amenities. Priority has been given to teaching and learning spaces, outdoor play areas and separation of bus and parent traffic.

The quantity of striped stalls in the proposed design is comparable to the quantity at the existing site (42 proposed and 35 existing). The existing site can also support additional informal parking of approximately 23 to 26 vehicles. The proposed design provides similar event parking of an additional 32 stalls.

Q. Has anyone thought about asking the Korean Presbyterian church if they would be willing to rent out their parking lot during the week? 

A. A conversation with the Korean Presbyterian Church has not occurred. Thank you for the suggestion.

Q. Is the plan for the field to be natural grass or artificial turf?

A. The field will be natural grass.

Q. The current field is very wet in non-summer months. Any improvements there? 

A. Yes. Improvements are being made to raise the field elevations and provide under drainage.

Q. Q. Does a U 12 field accommodate high school use?

A. No.

Q. Will there be tall pole lighting on ball fields?

A. No. There will not be pole lights on the athletic fields.

Q. Will the playground surface be paved again or a more natural material?

A. There will be different areas consisting of hard surface paving, soft surface, and natural materials.

Q. How many square feet is the asphalt play area?

A. The proposed hard surface play area is approximately ½ acre.

Q. Is there a dedicated childcare play structure?

A. Pre-K will have a separate play area with age-appropriate elements. Before & After-school childcare will use the courtyard, playground, and building as agreed with the district.

Q. Will there be a covered play court? 

A. A covered play area will be designed and included as a Bid Alternate.

Q. What degree of net change will there likely be in terms of numbers of trees on site, and tree canopy coverage?

A. Trees removed to build the new school will be replaced at a minimum of a 1:1 ratio and result in an increase to the canopy cover at maturity. The replacement trees will be located to shade new walkways, courtyards, and gathering spaces. Trees will be chosen specifically to reduce heat impacts to the building while still ensuring the rooftop solar panels will get light.

Q. What is the purpose or meaning of the water collection and channeling?

A. Water is being collected and channeled on site to meet city storm water requirements while also providing educational opportunities and visual interest to the site.

Q. Will SPS maintain the new wooded area at the north of the site where the steep street is currently?

A. The wooded area on the northeast will remain.

Q. The steep slope at the NE is filled with invasive plant material, not exactly the beautiful artist rendering through the windows. Will any work be done to remove invasive plants and plant new trees?

A. The district is working with the landscape architect to remove the invasive species along the hillside.

Comment. FYI, there’s an old Duwamish foot path and fishing weir along the stream across from the south gate the runs parallel to 105th there. 

A. Thank you, we will investigate.