Board members received an informational briefing and approved several athletic campus projects Tuesday, including parking work near Ottumwa High School and a new video scoreboard for Schaeffer Stadium, while district staff described early‑stage talks with the city about a possible consolidated baseball/softball complex.

Facilities staff said preliminary discussions with city officials indicate a willingness to transfer or lease portions of the land around the existing Legion and Babe Ruth fields to the district. The district is considering siting a varsity softball field near the current baseball complex, adding at least one additional field for middle‑school play, and improving parking. Presenters said turf installation for some fields is one of several options under consideration; they suggested keeping middle‑school fields natural and using turf at the high‑school level, but emphasized the plan is preliminary and will require stakeholder input and detailed design.

“There's a lot of space there and there's a lot of flexibility to move things around,” one staff member said, summarizing site opportunities; officials said improved drainage, in‑field leveling and irrigation would be needed in parts of the existing complex.

Board members raised logistics questions about restroom access, walk‑time from parking to home plate and the tradeoffs of turf versus natural fields. Staff said moving outfield fences on the Babe Ruth fields would create space for additional parking and that reconfiguring surfaces could improve drainage and reduce long‑term maintenance.

Separately, the board approved two concrete/parking projects around Ottumwa High School. The Fourth Street parking excavation project (site of four recently‑demolished houses) was awarded at a bid of $39,800 for excavation, subgrade work, fabric and gravel to create roughly 31 additional parking spaces and rip‑rap stabilization on a north slope. The board also approved additional concrete work around the competition gym and improvements to an alley to open access from Jefferson Street, which administrators say will yield more spaces near the high school campus.

The board also approved an award for a new Schaeffer Stadium video scoreboard — the low bid was $62,404 — as part of earlier stadium upgrades.

No binding land transaction with the city had been finalized at the meeting; district staff said they would seek formal agreements for any land use changes and bring proposals back to the board for approval. Staff said timelines and budgets will depend on the preferred configuration, whether turf is installed, and whether the district obtains city‑owned parcels such as the tennis courts.