03/08/22 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

From: Jessica Busch To: Brian Hagen; Dan Soecht; Chris Riley; Debra Musgrove; Chelsee Howell; Mark Kuzma; Matt Woestehoff; Ryan Heineman Subject: PACT Charter Secondary school Date: Thursday, February 24, 2022 10:18:44 AM Attachments: imaae001.onq Good morning, I apologize for including so many but I wanted to make sure my voice was heard regarding some concerns mostly around the possible building of the new PACT Charter Secondary school. My husband and I moved to Ramsey back in 2005 right after getting married. I had never heard of Ramsey before but my husband and I got all excited that we found an affordable house on a few acres. We never thought we would stay more than a couple of years, this was just going to be our starter home. Over the years we grew to absolutely love Ramsey! Ramsey was a perfect mix of that private rural feeling with wildlife in your backyard but close enough to conveniences in neighboring cities to have everything you needed. The population since we moved here has exploded due to all the hosing developments. I am very sad every time I see more and more housing developments. At one point in history I thought I remembered that Ramsey had a minimum 1 acre lot requirement. If Ramsey would consider keeping the lots larger such as 1 acre or more, I think existing residents would be more understanding of the growth. It would keep our more rural feel and really show a uniqueness that Ramsey used to have. If we keep the pace this is going, we are just like every other city in the end My 4 kids attend PACT Charter School and we absolutely love it. To be honest, if Ramsey keeps building homes, PACT is the one thing keeping me here in Ramsey. If it wasn't for this school, we would have moved out farther to a more undevelopment city where we could have more land and housing developments weren't going up on every corner. PACT is a fantastic school, giving families a choice. Parents should not be stuck with sending their kids to whatever school district they are in. We need schools that create competition amongst each other so they are forced to always try hard to be the best in education. That is what is great about charter schools. They raise the bar on education standards when done right. PACT has been a great member of this community and has put a lot of time and effort into selecting the best place for their secondary school expansion. If you really listen to the residents, they are concerned about traffic and more housing developments. The current zoning for the proposed land PACT wants to build on is going to add a ton of houses which also creates more traffic and upset residents (if not used for the school). The underlining theme here is they don't want anything built. I think adding a school and the future church are a great alternative use for the land that will serve our community well. I believe this sale will give the church the funds they need to build as well. Also, most schools do appear to be in residential neighborhoods so I don't think this should be an issue. No one wants their kids going to school in a busy commercial/retail area with heavier traffic. PACT kids have great character and this is held to a high standard in the school. This is not a large high school, its actually 6-12 grade and I do not believe it will have a big negative impact. I believe this will be a great opportunity for Ramsey Residents to have choice school in their neighborhood they can open enroll in. I also believe this will create more reasons for people to want to live in Ramsey and probably increase home values even