EASTON, Pa. — Easton Area School Board on Tuesday made clear its opinion on the million-square-foot warehouse project coming to Wilson.
School board members don’t want it, they don’t appreciate being left out of the conversation around it, and they aren’t happy about the potential impact Easton Commerce Park could have on their district, staff and students.
The board approved a resolution detailing its opposition to the project that highlights impacts it would have on district transportation and the environment.
“I think it will have an impact in the sort of collective force of the expressed concern, articulating the concerns of the school board, especially around environmental and transportation issues."Easton Area School District board member Ghennifer Zando-Dennis
The letter specifically called out that the project “will have significant impact on the transportation provisions of the Easton Area School District."
It would affect "over two dozen bus routes along 13th Street, Bushkill, Hackett Avenue and Wood Avenue ... hindering our mission to move students between home and school safely.”
The resolution also calls out the “significant environmental impact on local air quality and air contaminant amounts, thereby negatively affecting the health and welfare of our students and the school community.”
'This is not a healthy place to live'
“I just want to point out, just to add to this, that in the news this week, the Lehigh Valley was just given a rating of the 55th worst place in the country for air quality, so you know this is a serious issue,” board member Meg Sayago said.
"I am just appalled at the extent of this project and what it will do to worsen the air quality in our community. In addition to the traffic and busing that we have already talked about.”Easton School Board member Meg Sayago
“This is not a healthy place to live currently regarding air quality, and I am just appalled at the extent of this project and what it will do to worsen the air quality in our community.
"In addition to the traffic and busing that we have already talked about.”
The resolution concludes with a direct statement that the board does not support the project, exhibiting concern that Easton Commerce Park is in direct opposition to the district’s mission, which includes providing safe and efficient transportation for students and protecting the health and welfare of those students and other community members.
Furthermore, the document allows for Director Ghennifer Zando-Dennis to present the resolution on behalf of the board and district at an upcoming commission meeting in which the project is discusses.
Copies of the resolution also are set to be provided to Easton Planning Commission, the state Transportation Department, local municipal representatives, affected state representatives and senators, the state Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Awareness and impact
The board’s concerns have been a hot-button issue, with Superintendent Tracy Piazza opening up a discussion on the matter at a January meeting.
At the time, Zando-Dennis offered a presentation detailing the topics addressed in the resolution, using information from the Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse group, of which she is a member.
At an Easton City Council meeting around the same time, residents exhibited fears and concerns over the matter.
Scannell Properties has delayed its meeting with Easton Planning Commission multiple times over the course of past few months, and now are scheduled to appear at a May meeting.
On Monday, Wilson Borough Council approved an ordinance providing tax relief for the project.
Several board members brought up the size of the proposed warehouse, and how it will dwarf existing similar structures throughout the area.
“I hate to think of what it would actually do to our city,” council President Jodi Hess said.
'They were horrified'
Officials have said they hope opposition to the project will at the very least spark awareness of the impacts it could have on the community.
Hess said she is unsure of what will come from passing the resolution, though she hopes it will have some impact.
"There are more entities out there that are against it than probably for it.”Wilson Borough Council President Jodi Hess
“And I think that's the intent of the board and the administration, to have other people take a look at it," Hess said.
"There are more entities out there that are against it than probably for it.”
Zando-Dennis said she hopes the resolution spread further awareness across the community.
At a recent Arbor Day event where Stop the Wood Ave. Warehouse hosted a table, Zando-Dennis said numerous curious people approached them to learn about the initiative.
“Of course, everyone’s reaction was, they were horrified,” she said.
More education on the matter can help more people voice their concerns over the warehouse, Zando-Dennis said, which will be vital to the fight going forward.
“I think it will have an impact in the sort of collective force of the expressed concern, articulating the concerns of the school board," she said.
"Especially around environmental and transportation issues. I also think that it's also sort of part of the collective sort of narrative against this idea that it's a done deal.
“I think that, given that the egresses in and out of the space are on the Easton end, and percentage point of this warehouse itself is on Easton land, it's not a done deal.”
