Danny Federico
reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com
Superintendent Ted Roush provided an update on the two high school tracks during the Tuesday, Aug. 22, regular Suwannee County School Board meeting. According to Roush, he and Director of Facilities Ethan Butts had spoken that Monday about the engineering drawings and specs they had gotten back. He informed the school board that they would now need to decide whether to bid and get a price for the projects since they'd already spent money on the engineering for the two tracks.
"There's no cost to get a price," Roush said. "Ethan and I batted that around yesterday. If you go out shopping for a price and you don't act on it, the next time you go out to bid, whether six months later or a year later, you may not have the same interest or the same number of responses to that bid." The item didn't need to be voted on but required the Board's consensus on a direction; did the Board want to take the plans, put them out to bid, get prices, and then decide whether or not to invest in one or both projects? "They're both in need of some serious attention," Roush added. "It's not going to get any cheaper. When we get the price back, the question is whether or not we want to spend that kind of money on that particular project."
At this time, Board member Tim Alcorn asked if there was a rough estimate for the cost of the projects. Roush replied that it was "tricky" with "rough numbers" because the only comparison the district has to go off of from the surrounding area is a project done in Columbia County. He added how Butts had spoken with Fred Gaylord the day prior about the resurfacing, rubberizing and striping of Columbia High School's track. To his understanding, that project was around $800,000. However, Butts stated both of Suwannee's schools would require extensive site work.
"The cross slopes and the slopes on the fairway are wrong on the current tracks that we have," Butts said. "Columbia ripped the asphalt up and left the lime rock base. We will not be able to do that. We'll have to take the base out, restructure, reground the field, and then start over."
Roush added there has to be a six-foot fall zone around the tracks. While Butts says Branford's will remain "relatively where it's at," on the "west right away and the east right away, there's a crown north to south that's got to be taken out. That track is also crowned like a roadway would be. You're supposed to have a mono-crown that's supposed to be straight across...So, there's quite a bit of site work to do."
Board member Ronald White then asked if there might be other projects that would be more pressing to take care of first. Roush responded, saying there's always going to be projects needing to be done. "But the reality remains the same," he said. "At some point, they're going to have to be dealt with. It's just a matter of whether you do it now or later. I think it's something we've got to look at when we get a price tag. Is there any benefit to doing two as opposed to just one? I don't know. If you're staging, you're staging anyway, right?"
Board member Jerry Taylor voiced his approval of getting prices, stating it would be in the school district's and its students' best interest. He added that if a child fell and injured themselves on one of the current tracks, it could come back on the district. In addition, Taylor mentioned the district had a good relationship with the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners, and stated they might be able to assist in the projects.
"Let's think of some reasons why it can be done," Taylor said. "Just get prices back and see what all will be involved. We've gone this far; we would be remiss not to at least go the distance."
Although the item didn't require a motion for approval, the Board expressed a collective desire to move forward with attaining pricing and deciding on a course of action following their review.
The next regular Suwannee County School Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. in the School Board Administration Office, located at 1740 Ohio Ave. S, in Live Oak.