Board discusses costly press-box replacement after engineering report limits alterations

Board members reviewed an engineering evaluation and multiple bids for replacing or renovating a dilapidated press box at district athletic fields. Staff said the evaluation concluded the existing structure cannot be altered to meet current code and that any significant change would trigger substantial structural work. "You really can't do anything to that because it doesn't meet code," one board member said while summarizing the engineering finding.

Discussion focused on cost drivers (a quoted steel staircase cost of roughly $70,000, prevailing-wage impacts, and shear-wall and rigidity requirements) and options to delay or reduce scope (a smaller press box for video/coach use, or tying future restroom or parking projects to a larger capital plan). No final action was taken; members suggested re-evaluating timing and phasing of the project and asked staff to gather more detailed estimates.