Board hears plans for new athletic complex, forms committee to guide design and budget

Representatives from the project team, identified in the meeting as including John Boyle and Jeff Dane of Shockey Construction and Steve Munt (affiliation not specified), presented a concept for a new athletic complex that would include renovated press boxes, concession and restroom buildings, covered player benches at grade for baseball and softball, drainage and regrading work, and a separate storage building to replace an existing storage area repurposed for restrooms.

Presenters said drainage would be addressed through regrading and relocation of fencing; civil engineers will calculate stormwater needs and could add supplemental detention ponds or underground storage as required. The design team said ADA‑compliant accessible routes and sidewalks would be provided; slopes less than 1:20 would not require handrails, while slopes between 1:20 and 1:12 would.

The project budget figures discussed during the meeting included prior renovation budget references and newer estimates: a previously discussed renovation budget near $1,400,000 and a newer figure around $2,900,000 for a different scope; a larger site package and campus buildout figure presented to the board included numbers in the range of $16.46 million to $16.7 million. Board members and staff discussed funding sources including roughly $10,000,000 from bonds and other capital funds and approximately $3,000,000 identified for caregiving or related obligations; combined figures cited were about $13.8 million in available capital before accounting for outstanding high‑school obligations estimated near $2.5 million.

Board members and coaches debated field orientation, the tradeoffs of rotating infields and outfields, and the cost implications of major orientation changes. Several board members urged caution on additional costs and emphasized using tax dollars conservatively. Coaches and an athletic director were described as essential stakeholders; multiple speakers recommended forming a small committee including the athletic director, coaches from every sport that will use the complex, student representatives and at least the board chair or vice chair so plans reflect user needs and stay on budget.

A motion to form that committee was made by Miss Coleman (role not specified), seconded by an unnamed member, and approved by voice vote. The motion included direction that the committee bring recommendations back to the full board and that the committee’s scope would not grant final decision‑making authority but would require board consideration of any committee recommendations. Members warned the district may need to hold emergency meetings to meet timelines for project tasks.

Presenters left the meeting after a lengthy Q&A. No final design decisions or binding contracts were approved at this meeting; the board directed staff to convene the committee and return with a recommendation.