Several citizens voiced their concerns Monday night to Rincon City Council about a planned private school.

Covenant Christian Academy is asking to build a private church school at 107 Savannah Ave. The proposed school would have 18-25 students, pre-K through grade eight, five days a week.

Covenant Christian Academy has requested that the Rincon United Methodist Church allow them to put a school at their location, and as property owners, the UMC must request the change from city council.

They withdrew their request for approval so they can have more time to go over the plans.

Several in the audience expressed concerns over the increased traffic a school would bring to the residential area, specifically Middleground Road, which runs behind the church.

Louis Bennett, who said he had lived in the neighborhood since 1960, reminded council members just how badly the area floods when heavy rains hit the area and expressed worry over the impact the added traffic might bring to the area.

Other people voiced their fears about the increased traffic and safety of the children and also brought up the need for Middleground Road to be paved.

Council members said that they were still looking into the situation, but that efforts in the past had been stymied by insufficient right of way to allow for state funds to help with paving. The city may look at the possibility of paving using only city money.