Mt. Pleasant Voters to Decide $9M Athletic Fields Bond
Mount Pleasant School District voters will decide on Tuesday, Mar. 31 whether to appropriate just over $9 million toward improving the outdoor athletic facilities at the Westlake High School and middle school campus.
The Board of Education last Wednesday voted 5-0 to schedule the referendum one year after a special forum was held to first discuss publicly desperately needed improvements to the fields.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kurtis Kotes said administrators and trustees wanted to make sure that if the district asked the community for its support officials would have to offer a manageable proposal. The $9,085,366 bond would cost a taxpayer with a home value at the district average of about $584,000 an additional $106 a year for the duration of the 16-year bond.
“We believe that this is something that would improve our facilities, improve access for our students, and believe that this is a quality presentation to put before the public for their consideration,” Kotes said.
A key piece of the bond, accounting for more than $3.3 million of the cost, would be major improvements at the main multipurpose field on the campus. Artificial turf would be installed along with a resurfaced running track, which has come to the end of its useful life, said Erik Boe, director of civil engineering at LAN Associates.
The full track resurface would cost $541,000 while infill at the ends of the field to accommodate some of the other track and field events would run about $744,000, he said.
Additional work would be lights for night games, a new press box at the back of the bleachers and a new scoreboard.
Field B, referred to in the district as “the patch,” would be expanded to regulation dimensions for soccer, football and lacrosse, have fresh sod and irrigation installed as well as a scoreboard. That would cost an estimated $941,871. Field C, the upper field, would have similar work done, which would cost about $646,000.
Field D, used for softball, would have irrigation and a full drainage system installed along with improvements to the grass field for about $121,000.
Field E, also used for softball and some baseball, and Field F, which the varsity baseball team uses, would have drainage system and irrigation installed, plus bullpens, dugouts, new bleachers and an area for track and field events such as discuss and shot put, which could damage an artificial surface, Boe said. That work is projected to cost $947,443.
Paul Tozzi, president of Arris Contracting Co., said if the proposition is approved by voters, the district would then need state Education Department approval. The tentative timeline would be to start work in spring 2021 and complete work at all fields by the end of summer 2022.
Voting on the proposition will be held at the Westlake High School gymnasium on Mar. 31 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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