District reports sinkhole, alarms, field and Hayes Road construction; plans and safety steps described

District operations staff told the board about ongoing construction and facilities work, including a sinkhole at the middle school, athletic-field upgrades, playground resurfacing at the community center and a county road project affecting school arrival and dismissal.

Senior Officer of Operations Harold Scott reported a sinkhole that had been growing near the middle school; he said the subsidence accelerated and that contractor crews found sand beneath the pavement where multiple compacted rock layers should have been installed. Scott said barriers are in place and crews advised waiting to drive on the repaired area; the district planned to keep barriers up through Thursday to allow work and compaction to settle.

Scott and Assistant Superintendent Rochelle Cox also described districtwide grounds work: contractor crews were refreshing mulch and removing weeds across district sites, and staff are evaluating environmentally friendly weed treatments for maintenance areas. Athletics facilities are being upgraded with new dugouts, batting cages and a softball scoreboard, and the district is standardizing fencing and concrete under fencing at baseball fields.

Cox described a planned playground-surface refresh at the Fridley Community Center to promote gross-motor skills and reduce sand areas; she said new seating, storage and painted equipment are part of the project, with completion expected in October. Hayes Road construction, a separate county project, has created significant drop-off and pickup challenges for Hays Elementary; the district has pursued coordination with Anoka County and Fridley Police to reduce safety risks and is standing up a temporary bus route and other arrival/dismissal contingencies while construction continues.

The district also reported a technology change in alarm services: the district is moving from Eagan to UHL and using alarm.com for monitoring and will allow administrators and custodians to arm and disarm systems via an app to reduce false alarms and unnecessary emergency responses.

Operations staff said they are sequencing projects to minimize student disruption and working with local partners to cover staffing, traffic control and safety needs during construction.

No funding amounts for these projects were provided at the meeting; staff noted some projects aim to reduce longer-term maintenance costs, for example by replacing reheat valves districtwide.