The amount for the design of the athletic fields for the West Liberty Community School District came in lower than originally expected.
A change order was submitted to the West Liberty Board of Education for approval at the Monday, May 1 meeting.
The pricing for 4x4 inlaid squares in the turf; addition of soccer technical areas; addition of turf to the south end of the field; reduction of track surfacing to be replaced and reduction of the field logo was estimated to be $6,479,000 originally.
“It’s not too often that we get money back for the change order so that’s pretty nice,” West Liberty Community School District Superintendent Shaun Kruger said.
The new amount is $6,478,282, which was reduced by $717.
Board of Education member Rebecca Vargas asked Kruger what the lifespan of the turf and track would be.
About 12 years, Kruger replied.
A motion was made by Vargas to accept the change order. The motion was approved unanimously.
Kruger also told the Board of Education dirt is being moved at the site once again.
“It’s great to see,” he added.
There have been questions about the completion date.
“I’m getting a lot of questions about the timeline and if we’ll be playing football out there,” Kruger said. “The magic eight ball hasn’t given me an answer yet. I don’t know. We meet every two weeks (for an update on the construction) and as of right now things are on schedule. The timeline is looking good but everything hinges on weather, labor and materials.”
Materials are coming in on time and the labor is decent, he added.
“The substantial completion date is Sept. 15,” Kruger added.
As of right now construction is looking to be completed on time but who knows.
“While we want them to get done, we want them to hurry, we also want an outstanding finished product,” he said.
Only time will tell if the football team can play some games at the new athletic complex next fall, Kruger added.
The other item covered at the board of education meeting was the approval of the consent agenda.
Resignations by Sarah Wagamon, Said Rodriguez, Lesley Alvarado, Jeremy Canfield, Katherine Brooks and Natalie green were approved. New staff hired included Trisha Hall – head varsity softball coach; Austyn Crees – assistant varsity softball coach; James Laughlin – assistant junior high softball coach; Deb Lopez – ESL paraprofessional; Jeremy Canfield – assistant basketball coach; Eleanor Witt – kindergarten through fourth grad elementary school counselor and Alina Vanamu – elementary ESL teacher.