{"id":82910,"date":"2016-12-23T07:28:33","date_gmt":"2016-12-23T12:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=82910"},"modified":"2016-12-23T07:28:33","modified_gmt":"2016-12-23T12:28:33","slug":"committee-to-look-at-stadium-proposals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2016\/12\/23\/committee-to-look-at-stadium-proposals\/","title":{"rendered":"Committee to look at stadium proposals"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n

With the discussion on whether to renovate Eggerss Stadium or pursue construction of a new athletic complex at the current high school-middle school complex threatening to dominate Van Wert City Board of Education meetings, school officials have decided that the issue deserves a more balanced, unemotional approach.<\/p>\n

After some discussion on their own, Superintendent Ken Amstutz and Administrative Assistant Bill Clifton came up with the idea of creating an independent committee to study the issue and make recommendations to the board on what should be done.<\/p>\n

\"Eggerss
Renovating Eggerss Stadium (above) is one of two options being considered by a newly appointed committee.<\/strong> (VW independent file photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAfter the last meeting, I felt we needed to become pro-active, not reactive, on this issue,\u201d Clifton said, noting that he feels the board does not have the time at this point to give the issue the attention it deserves.<\/p>\n

Amstutz and Clifton then met with Board President RJ Coleman and Board Vice President Scott Mull to discuss the idea of a committee with them. Both Coleman and Mull were in favor of the idea and, with Amstutz and Clifton, came up with seven community members who they felt should comprise the committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe four of us put together what we feel is a fair and unbiased group,\u201d Clifton noted, adding: \u201cNow, in that fair and unbiased group there are people that have strong opinions one way or another \u2026 you\u2019re going to have that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voting members of the committee are as follows: Beth Gamble, wife of VWHS graduate and former football player John Gamble, whose three children are all VWHS graduates; Pat Jackson, a former VWHS football player who has children in the school district; Jacob Jones, who played football at VWHS and has children in the district; Larry Mengerink, a VWHS graduate who, with Kent McMillen, created the Save Our Stadium group dedicated to renovating Eggerss Stadium; Don Miller, former high school assistant principal and assistant football coach; LeAnn Pratt, a VWHS graduate and former cheerleader who is also on the Athletic Booster Club and has three children in the district; and retired Van Wert County Common Pleas Judge Charles Steele, also a former player and assistant coach.<\/p>\n

In addition to the seven voting members, the committee includes Clifton and VWHS Principal Bob Priest, both former football players and coaches, as non-voting members. Their role on the committee, Clifton explained, would be to provide information and answers for any questions the committee has on either plan. Amstutz and district maintenance supervisor Randy Stemen would also be resources for the committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur first objective is to give careful consideration to both locations, openly and objectively,\u201d Clifton said, noting that all seven members said they appreciated the approach and would be open-minded in their deliberations.<\/p>\n

The other two objectives of the committee are to determine the needs for both locations and complete a cost analysis for each plan, and ultimately come to a consensus and make a recommendation to the school board, which has pledged to support that recommendation, as long as due diligence is done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re operating off of and everybody liked that thought process,\u201d Clifton said.<\/p>\n

The committee had its first meeting on December 13 to organize and begin a dialogue on the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now all we\u2019re doing is coming up with a plan,\u201d Clifton said, adding that the district has no money now to go ahead with either option. \u201cShame on us if one day, somebody condemns that stadium and then we\u2019re stuck high and dry with nowhere to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clifton said the first meeting included a presentation by Mengerink on his plan to renovate Eggerss Stadium, while Amstutz provided information on what the board has done on a plan on an athletic complex at the current school site.<\/p>\n

The superintendent will also be meeting with architect Kraig Beilharz and have him come up with a plan that includes more specifics related to a new athletic complex and what that plan would cost, while committee members will also tour both sites.<\/p>\n

Clifton did note that the two plans have major differences: the Eggerss Stadium renovation plan is mostly renovation of the stadium and constructing related football facilities, while the athletic complex involves building a stadium, as well as baseball and softball fields and related facilities.<\/p>\n

After a cost analysis is done on both plans, the committee will then discuss the pros and cons of each plan and, eventually, make a recommendation to the board.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor With the discussion on whether to renovate Eggerss Stadium or pursue construction of a new athletic complex at the current high school-middle school complex threatening to dominate Van Wert City Board of Education meetings, school officials have decided that the issue deserves a more balanced, unemotional approach. After some discussion on their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-02 05:36:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82910\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}