VWCS board hears stadium report

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Board of Education got the news Wednesday that the district’s venerable football stadium can be repaired, and also got a ballpark figure on what those repairs could cost.

Rossi & Associates LLC of Toledo assessed the condition of Eggerss Stadium and, by and large, the news was positive. Although technicians evaluating the 75-year-old stadium – built during the Depression as a public works project – found numerous instances of cracking and crumbling concrete and areas of delamination – where the concrete was separating into layers – they found none of the reinforcing steel rebar was rusted to the point it needed replaced.

Technicians did note that problem areas were “extensive” but there was not an “excessive amount of exposed rebar,” which indicates, they said, “there is not extensive damage or rusting of the steel.”

Adding that the stadium’s structural integrity was “not severely compromised and the structure can be restored.”

Brad Rossi, who wrote the report on the stadium’s condition, recommended five things be done to restore the stadium. Those include:

• Remove all loose and delaminated concrete, and clean and prime all exposed rebar and repair the area with concrete patching mortar.
• Repair all cracks, either by epoxy injection or routing, and patch with polyurethane sealant.
• Coat all concrete surfaces exposed to the weather with a waterproofing traffic coating such as epoxy or urethane.
• Remove some areas of concrete that are severely damaged, such as the top of the west wall, and replace with new railings or masonry.
• Address building code issues, such as ramp slopes, handrails and ADA compliance.

Ross also provided two estimates for restoration of Eggerss Stadium. One from Ohio Building Restoration totaled $344,000, while the second, from Edifice Restoration, was for $331,000.

“The report shares, in a nutshell, that the stadium is repairable,”  said Superintendent Ken Amstutz, who added that, while there were questions yet to be answered, it appeared as if the district now had a pretty good idea of how much it would cost to renovate Eggerss Stadium.

Amstutz also told the board that an outside group had met with him, Athletic Director Kent Smelser and high school Principal Bill Clifton about constructing six tennis courts at the new athletic complex adjacent to the high school-middle school complex. The cost, approximately $300,000, would also include fencing, lighting and striping, as well as other equipment.

The superintendent said the group had only a few concerns, chief among them whether the public would have access to the courts – an important issue, since the former courts at Jubilee Park are now closed and the Smile Park courts not in good repair – and whether the school district would maintain the new courts, if they were built.

“I think this would a great opportunity for us, if the group can get the money together,” the superintendent said, noting that the courts would benefit the school tennis programs, but also stating the court surfaces would have to be properly maintained.

“There are some questions to be answered … I don’t think they’re monumental questions,” Amstutz concluded.

Later in the meeting, the board approved a resolution awarding a contract for a geothermal well field to Jamison Well Drilling Inc. for the new elementary school and Jefferson Elementary, at a cost of $743,419, which Amstutz said was 35 percent below estimates for the project.

The superintendent also noted that the Ohio Board of Regents has approved a grant proposal for a biomedical student in conjunction with Sinclair College. The program would be a part of Project Lead the Way, which currently includes a pre-engineering course conducted at the high school and Vantage Career Center.

School officials and teachers will be traveling to Wayne High School in Huber Heights, a suburb of Dayton, to look at that school’s biomedical program.

Amstutz did note that the Board of Regents proposal would allow use of the pre-engineering course as part of a student’s math requirement, while the biomedical course would be eligible for credit as a science unit.

In other action, the board:

• Heard reports from Ken Mengerink on the recent Vantage board meeting and the Van Wert Area Fine Arts Foundation board.
• Learned that Larry McCauley was advanced on a pay scale from the “masters with 15 hours” step to “masters with 30 hours.”
• Added Jason Barnes and Ann McCoy to the certified substitute list and Tamara Karcher to the classified substitute list.