Date: Fri 18-Jul-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

track-safety-board-stadium

Full Text:

Track Safety Upgrade A $25,000 Surprise To School Board

BY STEVE BIGHAM

The Public Building & Site Committee recently approved $25,000 worth of

changes to upgrade the Newtown High School track area for safety purposes.

The revised plan will move the long jump and the pole vault further apart from

one another and add a catch basin. Also, the new plan will include a

cage/fence for the discus and shot put events that can be removed to make room

for other sports.

The approved changes, all for safety purposes, appeared to fall within the

scope of the entire $300,000 stadium renovation project, according to Board of

Education Chairman Herb Rosenthal. He just wishes he had been in on it.

Apparently, two NHS track coaches noticed the need for more room in the track

area and took their concerns to Legislative Council member Joe Borst, a

liaison to the Board of Education. From there, the three of them met with

landscape contractor Dick Webb, hired by the architect company Kaestle Boos

Associates. They asked for a track and field design that would be sanctioned

for regional meets. One problem with current design was that the various

competition areas as drawn by the landscaper were too close for safety

purposes.

Most of the Board of Education learned of this $25,000 change for the first

time at their regular meeting July 8.

Board member Amy Dent wondered who had empowered the building committee to

make that decision to add on $25,000 and asked why the landscape designer

didn't know what he was doing.

"What's going on here?" she inquired.

Mr Rosenthal said he was at the construction site earlier this summer when he

overheard O&G Industries officials and building committee members discussing

the proposed track changes. He told them that any revisions that changed the

scope of the job would have to be run by the Legislative Council. However,

after hearing that the changes were for safety reasons and fell within the

scope, Mr Rosenthal felt there was no need for any approvals. He only wondered

why the school superintendent and school board chair weren't in on them.

"We were left out of the loop," he said.

School board members agreed that both the landscape architect and the coaches

were having their own way on the issue. They felt a dangerous precedent had

been set.

(Bee reporter Dottie Evans contributed to this article.)