Critical donation
Generous endowment opens up more parking space at New Plymouth High School
BY Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 11:25 AM PDT
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| The new parking area for New Plymouth High School students (above) near U.S. Highway 30 is shown in this Tuesday photo. The property for the addition was donated by residents Scott and Anne Moscrip and was approved at a school board meeting Monday. Currently in the works for the lot are new lines and new pavement. |
New Plymouth — New Plymouth High School students have a new place to cool their wheels after a local couple donated 1.08 acres for a new school parking lot.
The parking lot — a former trailer park — is situated next to U.S. Highway 30. The lot was analyzed by school officials as a potential addition to the high school since last spring when New Plymouth residents Scott and Anne Moscrip donated the 47,400-square-foot parcel to the school district. The New Plymouth School district approved the venture at its meeting Monday.
As a member of the school board, Anne Moscrip said she knew the high school needed more space. She also said she was aware of the lack of parking simply by looking at the school.
“Anyone with eyes could see that the school needed room to grow,” she said.
She also talked about the dangers students face when they park alongside U.S. Highway 30, including traffic congestion when drivers back out onto the busy roadway. The congestion was also a concern for NPHS Principal Bicker Therien.
“There were beginning drivers backing into a state highway,” he said.
The new parking area is surrounded by a fence, which forces students to enter the highway only at designated locations.
Another change is how school buses pick up and drop off high-school students. Now, buses move with traffic from East Park Avenue onto U.S. Highway 30 rather than being forced to make a sharp turn from Plymouth Avenue onto the road.
“The bus thing may be the best part of this,” Therien said.
Therien said students began parking in the new area when they returned from Labor Day break. High school staff also mailed letters from Therien in late August informing parents and students of the change.
However, the New Plymouth City Council has yet to approve the zoning change from residential to commercial. New Plymouth Deputy City Clerk Beth Earles said the property is currently meant to be used for duplexes, but the lot was “grandfathered in” allowing it to function as a trailer park.
The New Plymouth City Council is slated to make a decision about the property zone issue at a public hearing at 7 p.m Monday.
A formal dedication ceremony for the new parking lot will also be held at 1:45 p.m. Sept. 30.
Moscrip said Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and his wife, First Lady Lori Otter, will attend the ceremony and walk on new sidewalks constructed near the New Plymouth Middle School as part of Lori Otter’s ongoing support for safety near school campuses.
New Plymouth School District Superintendent Ryan Kerby elaborated on why he believed the addition was a good idea, both for the school and the community.
“Besides parking and safety, it got rid of an eyesore in our town,” he said.
Anne Moscrip agreed the property, which was purchased from a seller from out of state, was not in prime condition.
“They didn’t realize it was less than attractive for the town,” she said of the sellers.
Moscrip said they bought the property a little more than a year ago then held it for a year before giving it to the school. The Moscrips slashed rent prices in half beginning in January so that trailer park residents could save enough money to find other places to live.
“As far as we know, most of the residents are still living in New Plymouth,” she said. “We know that because their kids are still going to school here.”
Once the residents moved out, Moscrip said work began on clearing out the property to make way for the parking area.
Also in the parking area’s future is new pavement, which Kerby said is slated to happen next summer. Therien said the project would not have been possible without the Moscrips support, and that community members seem pleased with the addition.
“I’ve received nothing but positive comments,” he said. “It’s good for the kids and the community.”
