East Aurora Advertiser

First Capital Project Forum Sees Focus on Athletic Field Renovations



While it was a quiet forum, the proposed upgrades for the East Aurora High School athletic complex were the main focus during a public informational meeting last week, one of three scheduled discussions that give the community an opportunity to see what could be part of the capital project up for a vote in December.

The $22.3 million project will be up for referendum on Dec. 14. The project includes safety upgrades at all three buildings, remodeling of the library at the middle school and updates to HVAC units at all three buildings, as well as replacement of the public announcement systems and clocks. The parking lot at the high school off of Sweet Road is slated to be replaced, and replacing and relocating the tennis courts and the installation of an additional artificial turf field for teams to practice and compete on is part of the proposed project.

The improvements at the middle school are expected to be the most expensive portion of the project, coming in at $13 million. Improvements at Parkdale are estimated to cost under $1 million. Both of these numbers are at or under the cost allowance from the State Education Department, and East Aurora is reimbursed 61 percent on capital projects that fall within the cost guidelines. 

At the high school, the project proposes spending nearly $8 million, which exceeds the cost allowance by $3 million. The state looks at outdoor projects like athletic fields and parking lots as incidentals and there are limits on how much aid the state will give on these items. The additional artificial turf field is estimated to cost $3 million. This portion of the project might be covered entirely by taxpayers without reimbursement.

Superintendent Brian Russ said that the extra field is needed because it is difficult for teams and coaches to schedule time to practice and compete on the current turf field. Having two fields will ease the burden and allow more field time, especially during the season when the grass fields are too wet to use.

South Wales resident Becky Horning asked why the baseball and softball fields were not more of a priority. She said most of the time these teams are practicing indoors or in the parking lot because the diamonds are too wet and perhaps they should be addressed before adding an additional turf field.

Russ said they are looking to resurface the diamonds during the next capital project in 10 to 12 years.

“As we were planning for this project, we decided that the ball diamond complex will be further down the road,” Russ said.

Steve Shchurowsky, who is working on the project from the architectural firm Wright + Young, added that the tennis courts were also being prioritized because the current location creates a safety hazard. The tennis courts were last addressed during the 2016 Capital Project when they were resurfaced.

“The location of the tennis courts is a safety issue. Because they are so close to the trees, the leaves and other debris cause the surface to be slick and they were built over a pond in the 1960s,” Shchurowsky said.

In a separate interview after the presentation, Shchurowsky said that he plans on submitting a proposal to the state asking that the turf field be considered an incidental for the middle school because that building has not reached its cost allowance yet and several modified teams that include students from the middle school will use the fields. However, he cautioned he has done this in the past for other districts and it has not been successful.

“We are going to try this before we submit the project to the state. It’s worth the shot,” he said.

The $23.3 million dollar project will come with a 1 percent tax increase for residents and the district will be using $1.6 million from capital reserves to reduce the local share. The 1 percent increase will equate to $42 for every $100,000 that a property is assessed at. 

The public vote for this project is scheduled for Dec. 14. Voting will take place at the middle school on Main Street from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. All voters must be at least 18 years old, a citizen of the United States and a legal resident of the school district for 30-days prior to the vote.

The next question and answer session for community members on the capital project will take place on Nov. 16 during the regularly scheduled board meeting. The meeting will take place in the middle school library and it begins at 7 p.m. The meeting is anticipated to include other agenda items.

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