Grain Valley North athletic complex on schedule, project running below budget

Nicole Young, presenting for Hollis and Miller, described the new middle‑school athletic complex at Grain Valley North, saying it will feature a full eight‑lane competition track and an artificial‑turf football field striped for soccer and girls flag football, plus field events and roughly 500 bleacher seats. She said the design uses the site's slope to terrace additional lawn seating and adds a service access road off Pink Hill for activity buses and event circulation.

"Construction has started, and then the plan is for this to be complete by February 27 for the start of track season," Young said. She also described drainage work and site grading intended to limit erosion and long‑term maintenance of the terraced slopes. Young reported a combined hard‑cost figure of about $8.2 million from the general contractor and said that compared with the project's $10,000,000 budget the district is currently just over $600,000 under budget for this scope.

Board members pressed on traffic and parking for events, asking whether a turn lane or formal traffic study was required. Young said the county reviewed the Pink Hill access and did not require a turn‑lane improvement; the project team plans additional signage, event staffing and use of the east‑side parking expansion to separate spectator and bus circulation. The presentation noted security features and that cameras are included in the project budget. The board did not take a formal vote on this item during the presentation.