Getting set for busy summer: Capital projects to turn schools into construction zones

By next month, much of the grounds in the Coupeville School District are expected to be abuzz with construction activity and the dust won’t settle until late August.

To eliminate noise, sometimes you have to create some.

By next month, much of the grounds in the Coupeville School District are expected to be abuzz with construction activity and the dust won’t settle until late August.

The school district is looking to complete the first phase of a multi-faceted capital improvements project this summer, which will place construction zones at the middle school, elementary school and at Mickey Clark Field.

And that means that all three of those sites will be largely off-limits to the public for most of the summer.

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Work to replace the deteriorating track at Mickey Clark Field with a modern rubberized surface could start as early as May 23, Superintendent Jim Shank said this week.

The new track will feature eight lanes instead of six and allow Coupeville schools to host their own track meets, something they haven’t been able to do in recent seasons due to the 32-year-old track’s condition.

One potential hurdle the district didn’t anticipate, however, is a price tag higher than expected for the new track’s drainage system to meet code requirements.

Shank said he has asked for a special meeting May 16 to review final project costs and to seek school board approval to move forward.

“It’ll just be really nice to host a track meet,” said Elizabeth Bitting, who coaches the middle school track team along with Bob Martin.

“I’m glad the community supported it,” Martin said.

The improvements were made possible by a $5-million capital projects levy approved by voters in April 2015. The money will cover three phases of improvements that will extend through the 2017-18 school year.

The first phase began with the replacement of bleachers in the high school/middle school gym last summer.

The initial phase will wrap up this summer with work that includes replacing a heating and ventilation system at the middle school, remodeling a bathroom and repairing a damaged wall at the elementary school and installing a new track and bleachers at Mickey Clark Field.

The cost to finish phase 1 was originally estimated to be $1.4 million, Shank said.

The last day of school in Coupeville is Thursday, June 9. Construction at the middle and elementary school, which will be done by McKinstry, is targeted to begin Monday, June 13 and is supposed to be completed by Aug. 26, according to Shank.

The projects will result in the closure of the football and baseball fields, elementary school playground and Performing Arts Center during that construction period.

Replacing the HVAC system in the PAC will be particularly noticed by the community and beneficial beyond school events, Shank said.

“The PAC’s noisy when’s the heat’s on,” he said.

The field and building closures are for the public’s safety, Shank said.

 

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