Makeover for football field

Partnership between school district and local firm will improve player safety

WILLIAMS - It looks like the Williams High School football field will get a much needed overhaul thanks to a donation of time, materials and manpower from one local business.

During the May 25 regular meeting of the Williams Unified School District (WUSD) Governing Board, Jamie Mace, superintendent with L.P.'s Excavating, presented a plan to widen the field to alleviate safety concerns and make the field AIA compliant.

"What we're talking about doing is trying to gain 25 feet of field to the south," he said.

A retaining wall with a four-foot tall fence would be built 25 feet from the sidelines with a leach system installed behind the wall to drain water away from the field. The existing stands would then be moved back.

Mace said L.P.'s Excavating will donate all of the excavation work, worth approximately $45,000. All block work will be donated as well, bringing the donated cost of the project to around $65,000.

"Basically, what we need is the fence, the sod and the irrigation," Mace said. "We've got a bunch of individuals here to help to make this happen."

To make the project a reality, Mace said the district would need to contribute $11,000.

"I think that is a small token to gain what you guys would be gaining on that field," he said.

WUSD Superintendent Steve Hudgens said the district's portion of the project cost would come out of forest fees.

"Is this project going to break us? Absolutely not," he said.

Hudgens went on to say a district contribution to the project would help to keep a possible bond issuance less costly to taxpayers and direct money to other areas in need of funding.

"Instead of buying a football field for $90,000 we buy furniture for eight classrooms," he said.

After extensive discussion, board members approved $11,000 plus an additional $4,000 to cover possible cost overruns.

In other school board news, a three-member citizen bond committee, formed to review the board's list of projects to be funded by a possible bond issue, presented their recommendations to the board.

After reviewing all the projects under consideration, committee members Cookie Dent, Carol Glassburn and Mike Cowen concluded most of the projects should move forward barring one.

"We agree with everything on there except for replacing the roof at the middle school," Glassburn said. "All the research we've done indicates the roof can be repaired."

The current bond proposal includes $1.2 million to replace a leaking Williams Elementary-Middle School roof.

Cowen said that after extensive research, it is obvious to the committee that the roof's issues are due to a lack of proper maintenance. He estimates the torch down style roof can be repaired and sealed for approximately $100,000 as opposed to completely re-roofing the school.

"It would be nice if you could just tear off the roof and put on a new roof but considering the economic times and considering what this community is going through right now, if it's done correctly and maintained, that roof will be good for another five to 10 years," Cowen said. "Take the money you're saving and put it somewhere else where the students and the community can benefit from it."

Cowen went on to say portions of the south side of the roof have sunk down about three inches. Even so, he said properly repairing the roof through a vulcanizing process, much like repairing a punctured tire, would make the roof sound.

"If it's done right you could really build a swimming pool out of it," he said. "The roof wouldn't leak."

Cowen recommended that, in the future, a roofer walk the roof every year with all protrusions sealed. Thawing and freezing will inevitably cause cracks even with a completely new roof meaning maintenance will be the key to a leak-free building down the road.

"There are places up there where the wrong material was used to repair it," Cowen said. "The whole bottom side was not repaired right. You're going to have problems when you have that. You have to use a roofer."

WUSD Assistant Superintendent/Business Manager John Livingston told the board 18 roof core samples were taken in February with another 12 samples taken the week of May 17. District Project Manager Gordon Vasfarat is currently reviewing the samples.

"Hopefully he is going to come back with exactly what Mike says," Livingston said. "Just leave the structure alone completely and do an overlay."

Hudgens said the community bond committee's recommendation will help to shape the final version of the bond likely to go before voters in November.

"You can't ask people to get as involved as they have been and to be as diligent as they have been," Hudgens said. "We're at the point now that we need to decide how we're going to go and what needs to be on there and they have some great ideas."

Board members must decide this month whether they will call for an election. The district's previous bond was paid in full last year.