NCHS School Board Approves Football Field Lighting, New Flooring

Nashville Mayor Raymond Kolweier spoke to the NCHS Board at their regular April meeting, requesting that they approve an enterprise zone resolution.

By Alex Haglund

The Nashville Community High School Board approved action for installing new football field lighting and new flooring at the school at their regular meeting for April on Monday, April 19.

Art Hayhurst of FGM Architects was present at the meeting to speak with the board about the possible options for these upcoming projects.

First Hayhurst presented a quantified bid for $176,400 from Barton Electric to install the football field lighting. The board also decided to add an alternate item to the bid, a sectional shutdown which would allow the school to shut down the lighting at the field without having to have Ameren come in to do it for them at the transformer. That brought the total cost to $185,200 for the project.

Originally, the board was expecting the lighting to cost more for the lighting. “You’re coming in at $185,000 for something we thought was going to come in at $300,000,” Fowler told the board.

The field’s lighting will be going from eight poles down to four, while still providing the same amount of light said Hayhurst.

All of the wiring for the lights will be underground, and the channels for the wiring will be bored, not trenched, to prevent settling on the field.

Board member Paul Barczewski said that before the boring began, they would need to show the contractors where the irrigation lines were located, in order to avoid a conflict.

“Yeah, that would be important,” said Hayhurst.

“We’re really going to be working through the summer,” Hayhurst continued, saying that the underground work would be completed as soon as possible, and after that, they would be waiting for the light poles, which are an all-in-one design.

Flooring

For the flooring contract, Hayhurst brought two bids to the board, one for an all vinyl composition Tile flooring (VCT), and the other for Epoxy flooring in the hallways with VCT in the cafeteria and classrooms.

The epoxy flooring is more wear-resistant. “It has no joint or seams,” said Hayhurst. “Vinyl (VCT) will last about 15 or 20 years.” He estimated that the epoxy flooring would last five to ten years longer, but the price difference between the two is substantial. For the purposes of comparison, Hayhurst stated that the vinyl asbestos tile which the school was replacing had been known to last as long as 100 years, because of how well the tile could breath.

The bid for the VCT flooring came in at $63,899, with no bid made on painting the hallway walls. The bid for the epoxy flooring, from a different bidder in at $209,339. That bidder did make a bid on doing the painting as well at a cost in the neighborhood of an additional $8,000.

“With the way these numbers look, you would almost be better off going with the VCT and doing it twice,” said Board President Shawn Cook.

With the painting costing under $25,000, the school could contract for that directly.

“$63,899 versus $209,000,” said Superintendent Ernie Fowler, “and you’re still getting a very nice product.

Enterprise Zone

Nashville Mayor Raymond Kolweier spoke with the board briefly, asking them to sign a resolution that would allow the county clerk to abate certain taxes on businesses and properties that met the enterprise zone criteria.

“We were successful in getting the enterprise zone,” Kolweier said, “this one will be for fifteen years, with a possible renewal for another ten.”

Kolweier stated that he has to have a signed resolution from each of the taxing districts involved in the enterprise zone which allows the county clerk to abate the necessary taxes. Without this, each business seeking an abatement would need to be voted on separately to approve the abatement, a time-consuming possibility.

Fowler told Kolweier that the board would evaluate the resolution and then would take a vote on it at the next meeting.

“It’s been a good tool for us for the last 20 years,” Kolweier told the board. “I think that it will continue to be for the next 25.”

Personnel

After going into closed session the board made a number of personnel actions.

First, resignations were accepted from: Michelle Goostree, freshman class sponsor; Doug Kell, Senior Class Sponsor; Stephanie Griffin, Senior Class Sponsor; Jean Orr, Junior Class Sponsor; Tom Taylor, Junior Class Sponsor; and Sara Kollbaum, freshman class sponsor.

The board voted to approve the following hires: Cody Bauza and Grant Reed, summer student custodial helpers; Dylan Nierman and Jonathan Barker, assisting Mr. Welte as summer student technology helpers; Steve Browne, sophomore class sponsor; Alicia Heggemeier and Ericka Niedbalski, Senior Class Sponsors,; Dempsey Witte, Freshman Class Sponsor; and Kaela Stanowski, non-paid volunteer assistant Stingers Coach.

The board approved a reduction in force (RIF) of educational support personnel Shana Anderson.

Other

The board approved new activity fund software for the district at a cost of “About $3,700,” according to Fowler.

A math team field trip to SEMO for April 14 was approved after-the-fact. A team trip to Champaign was approved for May 7. An FBLA Team field trip to the nationals in Atlanta was approved for the end of June and beginning of May.

The board approved this year’s Lease/Levy technology purchases, at a price not to exceed $75,000 before the E-Rate discount was applied.

Dalaviras

Radio News Reporter Jim Dalaviras is leaving his job at Nashville’s WNSV as of May 31. Dalaviras is also an NCHS parent and a member of the NCHS Music Boosters.

“Every morning when I go to work, it’s been a pleasure to hear you and Bo on the radio,” Cook told Dalaviras, “and it’s a pleasure to hear how you pump up this school. I appreciate what you do for this school and our kids.”