Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Hillside Montessori is a step closer to building its new school thanks to an agreement the LaGrange City Council granted for a water and sewer line installation Tuesday night.

The council believes the additional line, which will run on Hills and Dales Farm Road, has the opportunity to bring in more development to the area.

“It opens up a huge basin, so that is why it is advantageous for us to open that up … and attract future developers,” City Manager Meg Kelsey noted at the council’s pre-meeting work session.

The council voted unanimously to pass the agreement.

“It’s not just for the school, but it’s to open that area up for water and sewage that can be developed,” Councilmember Willie Edmondson said. 

Water and sewer services are available at the LaGrange Heritage Senior Living that was recently constructed in the area, Kelsey said.

The line will subsequently be extended from the senior center to where the new school will be built, she said.

The project will cost an estimated $1 million, and the school has agreed to pay $250,000 of the cost of extending the line. 

Part of the costs will go toward installing a lift station into the area.

Contractors hope to have the school built and running by August 2022, Kelsey said.

Council also had its first reading on amending parking on the east side of Church Street.

Council previously received requests from two businesses on the street to restrict parking to two-hour parking.

The Downtown LaGrange Development Association also agreed to the change, Kelsey said.

In other business, the council took the following action:

• A vote to annex and zone property on Busch Drive was unanimously approved.
• The council held a first reading to rezone 103 Aaron Drive from R-5 A-1200 residential to R-2 residential that will be used to develop housing in the area. Council noted that traffic was an issue in the area and modifications should be considered before second reading. 
• Council held a first reading to rezone 1734 Whitesville Road from residential to general industrial to develop 79 acres into warehouses.
• Council called for a public hearing for its Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that requires a tax adoption and adoption of a proposed official zoning map. The meeting will be held June 8.
• Council authorized the mayor and clerk to execute a third amendment to an intergovernmental contract regarding the city’s sale of a piece of property adjacent to Upper Big Springs Road that is being developed for industrial use. The amendment is an extension of the current contract for another 60 days.