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HCCSC discusses numerous updates

A blueprint of “Site Plan B” - the proposed site of the new HNHS football stadium - shows a north and south oriented field, and the relocation of the softball field.
A blueprint of “Site Plan B” - the proposed site of the new HNHS football stadium - shows a north and south oriented field, and the relocation of the softball field. Photo provided by Huntington County Community School Corporation

A lengthy and weighty Huntington County Community School Board of Trustees meeting was held Monday night, Jan. 25.

Topics discussed ranged from facility project updates, to COVID-19 and financial matters.

Superintendent Chad Daugherty gave an update on the Huntington North High School Stadium Project.

“When we first started this process (of moving Kreigbaum Field) … we thought … we can put that (football field) right down Viking Lane,” said Daugherty, “When you look at that, it looks very good. You won’t have to move any of our other facilities that we currently have.

“However you can see,” explained Daugherty, presenting a layout of the site, “that is a gas pipeline in which we cannot have any construction over that or move dirt.

“It has to be left alone.”

After discovering the pipeline during initial planning, Site Plan B was born.

For this plan, the football field would be “almost north and south,” says Daugherty. He explained that north and south is the best layout for a football field, because as the sun sets it does not get in the players’ or spectators’ eyes.

At the new site, the capacity for bleachers on the home side would be 2,500, Daugherty reports. Current portable bleachers, with about 450 capacity, would be available for visitors on a concrete pad.

Daugherty says the current bleacher system at Kreigbaum Field is about 3,200 on the home side.

“We are losing some seating,” he admits, “However, enrollment has went down at our high school. It’s no longer 2,400. We are down to 1,450.

“So we believe this will be good enough.”

The field would also be built wide enough to accommodate the incorporation of a soccer field within the football field layout, Daugherty said. This is something that is currently impossible to do at Kreigbaum.

The track around the field would be a nine-lane latex track.

“The only problem with Site Plan B,” says Daugherty, “is we are going to have to move the current softball field.

"The current softball field is where the football field is proposed.

"So, it will be moved down Viking Lane and it will be a brand-new softball field.”

With the current timeline of the project, construction would begin during the upcoming softball season. This will disrupt the season, and Daugherty says Athletic Director Kris Teusch is looking for alternative sites.

Board member J. Ryan Wall asked about putting turf on the softball field.

Daugherty responded, “There is a larger cost with that.”

“With softball,” Daugherty conceded, “If you turf it, it’s good. In Indiana you get a lot of rain outs – it rains a lot in the spring.”

However, he reiterated, “That is a big cost for us.

“We did look into both softball and baseball – turfing those – but right now we are just looking to finish this project.

“That is not on our radar at this moment due to pricing and just trying to move to take care of this facility.”

The current timeline on the project is as follows:

On March 31 bids will be sought. On April 26, a school board of trustees meeting will approve recommended low bidders. On May 3, construction will begin.

A date of completion is to be determined.

Other details about the project include:

• A practice football field, of grass, of 100 yards, will be put in the middle of the softball field and the proposed site of the football field.

• ERI is working with storm water management. Daugherty says discussions have been had with INDOT and have been favorable relative to the easement and storm water discharge. Sanitary facilities at the new site would be tied into the high school building sanitary lines.

• There are two outbuilding floor plans.

The first will have 100 lockers for the home side and a coaches office and restroom facilities. Daugherty says it will also “have a drying room with ventilation … so it won’t be stinking up the whole locker room.” Fifty lockers will be available for the visiting team, with restrooms and showers for both teams and restrooms for fans. A training and laundry room will be housed together, with a storage and utility room. Daugherty says this building will also be used for boys and girls track.

The second outbuilding, an alternate building, would house restrooms for home fans, storage and have three windows for concessions.

• The scoreboard will be located right at the end of the end zone. Daugherty says HCCSC Business Manager Scott Bumgarner is working on a donor for the scoreboard, which he says the corporation thinks they will be able to acquire money for.

• Daugherty says in two weeks, he will have an accurate budget for the project.

“We feel like its coming together quickly,” he concluded.

In financial business, Bumgardner said the 2020 fiscal year has wrapped up, and the corporation is onto 2021.

“I think we finished off better than we started … and had another successful year.

“(We were) not only able to give raises, (but) able to help maintain our buildings and also maintain our financial integrity as a corporation.”

Bumgardner also sought and received approval to award Wayne Asphalt a contact to update the traffic patterns at Horace Mann and Flint Springs schools.

Bumgardner reported the bid was for $883,414, including both Horace Mann and Flint Springs in that cost. He says the project will be completed before school starts in the fall.

Bumgardner requested to purchase a Ford F250 plow truck from City Ford in Columbia City. A municipal discount is applied, he said, and the price is $29,693.25. The new truck will replace a truck that Bumgardner says has “failed” and “worn out its welcome with our district.”

The board also approved a declaration of surplus on the district’s 1999 Ford F350 and 2002 Chevy Blazer.

A proposal for new bleachers at Riverview Middle School was unanimously accepted for the price of $99,800.

Bumgardner explained that after much deliberation, “We came to the conclusion late last week that it would be money ahead for the corporation to recommend that we replace these bleachers.”

He thanked the board for their consideration, saying, “I know this wasn’t on your radar, nor mine.”

The opportunity to have Lee Company install the new bleachers at this cost would expire after Feb. 1, Bumgardner explained. Additionally, with this approval, the project has been moved up and will be completed during the corporation’s spring break, rather than the previously projected timeline of summer vacation.

Bumgardner said the funds will most likely come out of the corporation’s operations budget.

During the COVID-19 update, Daugherty reported that the current number of staff quarantined is five, down from 32 on Jan. 8.

Since the beginning of the school year 139 students have tested positive, with the current number of students quarantined at 141.

Also addressed was the COVID-19 vaccination site that opened this week at Crestview Middle School.

The corporation and the Huntington County Health Department have received push back from the community in regards to this decision.

HCCSC entered a mass prophylaxis site agreement with the health department in December 2018.

The health department has identified Crestview’s main gymnasium as a suitable facility to administer vaccines.

The state mandates vaccine administration facilities must be ADA compliant, have heat, water and restroom facilities, as well as Internet access, clear barriers and doors, a parking lot and very open space.

The corporation reiterated that this will be used as a vaccination site only, not a COVID-19 testing site.

Individuals reporting to the site to be vaccinated will be arriving by appointment and will be required to wear a mask and to be health screened before entering.

The Huntington County disaster team will be on site to assist with parking, and law enforcement will be on site to ensure safety and security.

Using the gymnasium will not interfere with physical education classes, as the school as an auxiliary gymnasium, wrestling room and fitness room.

The main gym, where the vaccines will be administered, operates on a separate air handler than the rest of the building, noted Daugherty.

Those entering the building for vaccination will enter through doors straight into the gym, and a curtain will be hanging so anyone in the gym will not be able to see into the school.

Dr. Matt Pfliefer, interim health officer for Huntington County, addressed the board and explained that no children will be able to get into the gymnasium, and no children can or will be vaccinated.

He also promised the board that his goal is to be out of the space as quickly as possible.

In other COVID business, Daugherty says elementary basketball is scheduled to go on. He says two vouchered spectators per player will be permitted to attend games.

He added that HNHS students have the opportunity to self-quarantine prior to upcoming tournaments or performances.

Daugherty also said the restructuring of the school calendar proved beneficial, as 21 positive cases were reported in the district during the extra week of winter vacation.

Virtual student enrollment is at 642 for the district’s second semester.

In other business:

• During the public comment portion of the meeting, six individuals – students and teachers alike – addressed the board, with pleas to continue with the Viking New Tech program, which the corporation is reportedly considering disbanding. Daugherty cited declining enrollment as the reason for stopping the program. He says the board is “forced to make difficult decisions to make ends meet.” Board President Matt Roth said he will take the comments into consideration when the board ultimately meets to make a decision on the fate of the program in the near future.

• Updates were made on th e HNHS HVAC project and the Learning Center expansion.