Residents urge repairs to baseball field, board appoints construction manager for $15M improvements

Canal Winchester residents urged the school board to maintain and repair existing athletic facilities while the district advances a multi‑site improvement plan, and the board voted to name Summit as the construction manager at risk to begin preconstruction cost planning.

At the start of public comment, Rob Stedman, a lifelong Canal Winchester resident, told the board that students currently using the baseball field deserve interim repairs until long‑term projects are complete. "Until everything's finished, I think the school system needs to continue to invest in the seniors, the juniors, and probably the sophomores that aren't gonna see any of this," Stedman said, urging fixes to fences and windscreens rather than relying on volunteer patchwork.

Eric McGee, another resident, echoed concerns about delays and momentum on capital planning, noting the community’s desire for steady, incremental improvements. "Slow improvements over time help to get that excitement going," McGee said, drawing a link between visible facility upkeep, community involvement and student participation.

The district’s treasurer, Nick Roberts, responded during the meeting’s fiscal update that the facilities program is moving forward and outlined financing already in place. Roberts said the district borrowed $15,000,000 to fund a package of projects including a performing arts center (PAC), athletic field house, softball and baseball fields, additional tennis courts and track work. "We borrowed $15,000,000 to to mainly do these projects, which PAC is a big part, Athletic field house, softball fields, baseball fields are a big priority on those," Roberts said, and said renderings and site plans will be shared as work proceeds. He estimated many improvements could be finished by mid‑2026 and said some work is already in design.

Following design progress, the board took a separate action to select a construction manager at risk (CMR) for the district‑wide improvements. After interviewing firms, the board approved Summit to join preconstruction work with the architect and begin cost‑estimating for the site plans. A board member said the CMR will help translate designs into precise project budgets so the district knows "exactly what we can do, what we can't do." The motion to appoint Summit passed on a roll call vote.

Why it matters: parents and current athletes raised immediate concerns about field conditions; the appointment of a CMR signals the district is moving from planning to price‑setting and implementation steps for an $18,000,000 project package the treasurer outlined, which the district says is funded in part by the $15,000,000 borrowing.

Board members and staff acknowledged ongoing repairs to several sites — for example, drainage work at the softball field and gym floor refurbishment planned at the middle school — and said boosters and athletic funds also supplement facility upkeep in the near term. The treasurer said boosters raise roughly $300,000 and the athletic fund brings in about $350,000 annually; he said some projects are consolidated into the larger site project and others may require future levy actions if additional funding is needed.

The board did not set final construction scopes during the meeting; administrators said the CMR and architect will now refine budgets and schedules and bring further resolutions to the board for approvals.