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(Editor’s Note: This story was corrected at noon on April 20 to reflect it was a joint meeting between Blacksburg’s town council and planning commission.)

BLACKSBURG — The trouble Blacksburg officials had narrowing down points at an Old Blacksburg Middle School joint work session with the town planning commission today spoke to the size and scope of the project.

“I’m kind of frustrated with this process here. I don’t understand how we’re supposed to give meaningful input,” said Blacksburg Councilwoman Cecile Newcomb.

Blacksburg is working through a master plan process for the middle school property, which is set to be demolished in June.

The town will consider rezoning the 20-acre middle school property for offices, residences, retail and civic use to bring money for new school construction projects. Montgomery County will then sell the properties.

Blacksburg advertising agency Modea Corp. announced plans last month to more than triple its workforce and build a $10 million corporate headquarters at the site.

Newcomb said the way the meeting was flowing, it was difficult to figure out how to express an opinion constructive to Blacksburg’s needs.

Many options shown were either very speculative in nature or examples from larger localities in other areas, she said.

The presentation given by representatives attached to the project were very visually oriented, offering overhead concept drawings, detailed models that illustrate possible parking scenarios, and building layouts.

Elected officials were also shown a number of successful mixed-use developments in Northern Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Ohio.

Councilman John Bush also expressed worry that he didn’t see “visual clarity” in some of the concepts shown, and hoped to soon see something more concrete for good planning purposes.

Tripp Muldrow with Arnett Muldrow and Associates addressed concerns, and said that between information received from town residents, the governing bodies and Modea, it is important to begin narrowing down what is wanted and needed so that the picture becomes clearer.

“This is going to be a very frustrating process, with all of the diverging opinions in the room,” he said.

Blaine Kassee with Draper Aden and Associates said that organization will progress when priorities are clearly outlined.

“It’s going to have to come down to what are the priorities and what are we willing to kind of pass on,” he said.

Town Manager Marc Verniel shared similar thoughts, in that there are a lot of “moving parts” with the project, and a realistic approach moving forward will be most beneficial.

“We’re going to mold these things together, and try to come up with something,” that is realistic and can happen, Verniel said.

Based on discussions from all parties, one aspect that remains unanimous is that the Huckleberry Trail should connect through the site, Muldrow said.

The most-difficult aspect of the rezoning will be deciding how to use the open space, he said.

It’s clear that everyone wants a public open space component to the property, he said, but having to decide the amount, mixture and precise locations of the open space make it “one of the most-difficult and tangled” parts of the project.

Other issues touched on were the consideration of parking options and costs, operating costs, and traffic concerns.

Muldrow stressed that as the project takes form, officials should also be aware of the “big picture,” that the project won’t happen without public money.

“If the expectation is that this is going to develop with no commitment of public money, that’s a false expectation,” he said.

“So the question is how much, from who, and for what?”

The planning process will continue well into May, with a possible master plan approval date tentatively outlined for May 24.