Mandan residents Tuesday night voiced concerns about road development, cost and overall location of a new junior high school at public forum held by the school board.

A majority of the more than 50 people present entrusted school board members to pick a site for a building, saying the district needed a building regardless of its location. Some, however, said they would vote against a measure if they didn't like the location.

The board presented background on the four sites they are looking at as potential junior high locations. Those include Diane's Addition in northeast Mandan, the Keidel property in southeast Mandan, Lohstreter in northwest Mandan and Terra Vallee in north Mandan.

There was no consensus reached on which of the four sites residents supported, but board members said they didn't expect it. Instead, they wanted to make sure all aspects of the sites were considered before making a final decision.

"I expected a mix," board member Jan Pratt said. "We (the board) don't have all of the answers."

The board had narrowed its selection down to the Lohstreter and Keidel sites because of their location, potential for residential development and cost. Terra Vallee and Diane's Addition had the highest cost for infrastructure and land of the four.

Board members will take another look at all four sites after a representative for the owners of the Terra Vallee site said they would donate 10 of the 30 acres the district was looking at during the forum.

Some residents said they favored Terra Vallee over Keidel and Lohstreter because of its northern location, easy access and development potential.

A final site selection was expected to be made at the Dec. 20 board meeting, but Pratt said she didn't know if that would happen because of the work the board has to do before reaching a consensus.

For the first time, the board told the public it is leaning toward a school for seventh- and eighth-graders. It had been considering whether to create a three-grade junior high or middle school.

Members said they wanted to minimize the cost and scale down a plan they presented voters with four years. That measure would have cost taxpayers $15 million. The district is looking at keeping a new plan within $15-20 million, board member Michele Sondrol said.

Also, members listed potential uses for old junior high that included moving the district's central administration and preschool children into the facility or turning it into a technology hub for the community. The north wing of the school would be torn down.

(Reach reporter Sheena Dooley at 250-8225 or sheenadooley@ndonline.com.)