Environmental committee urges coordinated search for alternative to proposed Graney junior high site

The Fayetteville Environmental Action Committee on July 21 discussed the proposed Graney junior high school site and agreed to draft a joint letter to the mayor and the Fayetteville School Board urging broader, coordinated consideration of alternative sites and additional technical review.

Committee chair Jeff Pummel opened the discussion by placing the item on the committee’s old‑business agenda and asking for members’ views. “I just wanted us to talk for just a few minutes about where we are right now with the whole issue and what people are thinking about,” Pummel said. Several members raised concerns about site geology, traffic access and loss of tree canopy if the school is built on the proposed parcel.

Member Margaret (first name only in the record) and other committee members cited a detailed letter from a local resident (referenced in the meeting as a technical letter) outlining risks including steep slopes, constrained ingress/egress…