By Crystal Hayduk
The Chelsea School District Board of Education met on Feb. 24 for a work session to hear a bond project presentation from representatives of Kingscott, a Michigan architecture and engineering design firm with a branch in Chelsea.
Rob Atkins reviewed the paving project at the Washington Street Education Center (WSEC), which will complete the project begun in 2019. The football field lot will be milled and resurfaced, cracks in the main drive from Freer Road to the lot will be filled and sealcoated, improvements will be made to the sidewalks, a new ADA ramp will be constructed on the east side of the Chelsea Senior Center, and signs will be replaced as needed.
The WSEC parking lot and 100 building lot will be reconstructed and a crosswalk will be added. In the grass island area, a new spillway will be constructed, as well as a walkway in the middle to create a “defined route that is visible and safer,” said Atkins.
Board member Dana Durst expressed concerns about major parking lot work impairing access to the senior center, but Atkins said emergency access would always be maintained, and there will be ongoing communication with the facility’s users regarding project updates.
The WSEC paving project will begin this summer and is expected to be completed prior to the start of football season and school. It will be paid for with money from the district’s sinking fund.
Sarah Haselschwardt discussed plans for the long-anticipated bus wash to be located at the bus garage on Old US Highway 12. She said the bus wash will be attached to the side of the garage instead of being a freestanding building. The attached design is more efficient and requires less space, permitting a greater turn radius for buses.
The bus wash project will begin in the fall and continue throughout the school year. It will be paid for with a combination of 2009 and 2019 bond funds.
Haselschwardt also presented the schematic design for an addition to Chelsea High School (CHS), east of the existing gymnasium. The connected addition will match the original construction. The addition’s footprint will be limited to 25,000 square feet to remain within the project’s budget, to be covered with 2019 bond funds.
The auxiliary gym will have a main competition court and two practice basketball courts, as well as markings to denote competition and practice volleyball courts. The gym will have bleachers to seat 400-600 spectators, with stairs to access them from the upper level. The new space will also house a weight room, an office (known as a “collaboration space”), a lobby, storage space for concessions, and restrooms.
Superintendent Julie Helber said one of the intentions of the district with the addition is to provide restrooms for players and spectators who use the competition tennis courts and soccer fields. The current facilities are limited to porta-johns.
Haselschwardt said Kingscott is excited about giving students these additional facilities, especially the weight room. “The weight and fitness curriculum at the high school is outstanding and well known across the area and maybe the state,” she said. “Students are taught safe and healthy practices for a lifetime, and those who are going on to college-level athletics are very well prepared.”
It is hoped that the gymnasium addition construction will begin in the fall; a completion date is unknown at this time.
Helber provided an update on the renovations to the 500 building at WSEC. The building is scheduled to open for classes in the fall, and will house robotics and engineering, as well as health sciences. These are career preparation courses that will give students the opportunity to earn certifications when they finish.
“[Teachers] Duane Moss and Arlene Kofahl, along with their parent advisory boards, have been integral in planning this wonderful educational space,” said Helber.
Tim Courtright, director of the district’s operations, provided an additional list of possible remodeling and updating projects to be paid for with 2019 bond funds. “The district is going to have some dynamic changes in the next few years,” he said. “It’s been more than 20 years since there have been major necessary updates in some of the buildings, especially the middle school. And, dealing with renovations makes things stressful for the users. The decisions about what projects happen will be based on the cash flow, what we can do, and when.”
School bond funds can be used for additions, remodeling, furnishing, and equipping buildings and other district facilities; to purchase and install educational technology; purchase school buses; and improve playgrounds, athletic fields, facilities, and sites.
The next regular school board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on March 9 at Chelsea High School, 740 North Freer Road.
