Sports : VS dedicates athletic complex; school leaders thank donors, sponsors

School Board members and sponsors gathered for a photo to celebrate the Karr project.

Students and a few parents including Todd Wiley tested the new turf on Sunday.

Parents and children kicked soccer balls or tossed and kicked footballs as more than 125 people gathered at the newly-renovated Karr Athletic Complex to celebrate the completion of the new track resurfacing/field turf project.

School officials reviewed the project and thanked the donors and business sponsors who helped make the project possible.

See more photos HERE.

Project Summary:

Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock shared the following summary of the project's scope and cost, along with recognition to those who helped, with the audience:

As you’ve heard, we received over $300,000 in donations from businesses, organizations and individuals. I would like to review the total costs of the project and what we are “getting” from those expenditures. While we are following every expenditure down to the penny, for now, I’m going to round the numbers and they may be easier for you to remember and repeat to others if you are talking about the complex in the future.

First, the total cost is going to be right at $1.3 million dollars. But before you think we spent a million dollars on the turf, let me tell you the other big ticket items that are included in that total.

Almost everyone here today can picture the water that used to accumulate on the southwest corner of the track. During heavy rains, or even not so heavy rains, we would have standing water on some of the lanes and it might even be on the grassy area. One of our priorities was to “fix” the drainage. This involved considerable tiling work around and under the track and the field. This work is estimated to cost $299,739.75 or right at $300,000. They were working on the drainage system during several heavy rains and we are confident the drainage work will address the former issues. Since they’ve been done, we’ve had additional large amounts of rain and it has run off in a timely manner. The system was designed to handle up to two inches per hour.

Anyone who has been a part of our track program knows that the surface was woeful. The surface had been in place for many years and then sustained damage during the 2011 windstorm. We were able to patch it as we considered different options for the complex and resurfacing it. The track repair and resurfacing portion of the project will cost $483,268.86 or just under $500,000.

As we started the project, we realized we needed to consider how we would surround the track. In looking at other facilities, we decided the best option would be to install a three-foot band of cement around the track with fencing. This was an additional $80,000 but we are confident the right time to do this work was as the track was being redone so we could make sure the edges fit together instead of trying to match it later.

Probably the portion of the project that created the most interest was the synthetic turf. As Mrs. Gates referenced, there was considerable research and discussion about the feasibility and viability of turf versus sod as well as the safety features of the various types of surfaces. Ultimately, and maybe because of, the support many individuals, organizations and businesses showed for the project through donations, the decision was made to install synthetic turf. The cost of the turf is $436,669.13 or just under $450,000. With over $300,000 given in donations towards the project – with about $30,000 of them targeted towards the track - right at 60% of the portion of the project for synthetic turf will come from donations.

We all knew we needed to replace the track and fix the drainage system. What we didn’t necessarily anticipate was those two expenses would total about $800,000. Over the last several years, the board had set aside funds and kept the track/drainage project as a priority in their planning and allocation of facility use dollars. These dollars are generated intwo ways – first, the extra 1-cent we pay in Iowa is part of the Local Option dollars. The second revenue stream is the Physical Plant and Equipment dollars that are generated because of our local patron’s support of keeping our facilities in great shape. These two revenue sources can only be expended on buildings, roof repair, equipment, technology, busses and other large ticket items. None of the dollars can be spent on salaries, insurance, textbooks, utility, or other on-going district expenses. I want to emphasize a point here…none of the dollars that went for this project could have been used to hire additional teachers, associates, bus drivers or other staff. The dollars can only be allocated towards keeping our buildings, grounds, busses and technology up to date.

If the district’s initial responsibility of the anticipated expense was $800,000 and the community donated over $300,000 additional dollars, the question remained as far as how the additional $200,000 would be funded. Ultimately, the board made the decision to allocate those funds from the PPEL/LOST funds for the project.

Once the funding was identified, we could proceed with the completion of the project. I would like to publically recognize and thankI & S Engineering for their work in the design, development of documents, and follow-through on the project. I would also like to express great appreciation for the general contractor on the project – Peterson Construction. From the first project meeting in May to our final walk-through last week, they have been focused on making sure we ended up with a great complex with quality work. As with any construction project, there were some minor bumps along the way such as when a water line was cut or we had to coordinate schedules, but they were always proactive and responsive and worked to be part of the solution. If they were here, I know they would express their appreciation for the local subcontractors and others in the area they worked with. They worked with Coots Building Materials as well as two teams out of Midwest Turf for the field and the track work as well as subcontractors for the painting of the track. Chuck Betterton and his crew did a great job of working with us as far as the installation of concrete around the track.

While all the board members were actively involved as we considered this project, I would like to thank Brenda Bartz and Mike Timmermans for their leadership and involvement during the construction phase. They made themselves available for phone calls and e-mails as we worked through some of the details.

I would like to publically recognize and thank Bruce Erickson for sharing his time and expertise. As many of you know, he knows drainage and he has years of experience getting water to drain off fields. He was at the complex frequently during the drainage installation and since then. He checked the contractors’ work before it was covered back up, he watched the water flow, and he gave advice along the way.

Finally, while I am here, I need to give recognition to the work that Jim Struve did on behalf of the district in making this project a success. If you’ve ever worked with Mr. Struve, you know that he pays attention to detail and then follows through on his commitments.