Mills and Projects Approved at BOE Special Meeting

In a special called meeting Thursday night, August 20, the Board of Education came together to review construction projects.

Though the first item on the agenda was to approve the Millage Rollback to 16.62 mills, previously set to keep taxes from increasing, the Board quickly went deeper into discussion about the Clear Creek Ball field and the projects needed to get this field to standards required for future uses.

The two projects mainly mentioned were the need for resurfacing the track and adding lights to the field. These two will be spending part of the remaining ‘ESPLOST 3’ funds to complete with the track estimated at $70,000 and the lights at $170,000 – $250,000.

The track will use a rubberized surface over its eight lanes now, which is said to be easier on the joints of our students than asphalt. This will not only improve the field as a whole, but also the track programs as this would allow the hosting of larger track meets. With larger meets could also come state-wide publicity and potentially more college scouts which could translate to more scholarships.

The field would also need field lighting installed for the sports programs to use as the days begin to get darker earlier. The lighting options include HID lighting which would cost $170,000, these are estimated to last 5,000 hours or about 10 years before needing to be replaced. The other option would be LED Lights at a cost of $250,000, estimated to last 65,000 hours or a potential 130 years if you compare to the HID lights life.

Either option would require concrete poles to be installed for the lighting. However, these fields are not locked into the Clear Creek only as Dr. Wilkes stated a state level track and field could be used by GHS or other schools if necessary to continue the options for larger meets and events for the entire county.

The final agenda item the Board considered came as several members of the community have been asking to build showers into the field house at Clear Creek. The Board approved a motion for Dr. Wilkes to explore the options and possibilities of adding these showers, a minimum of four individual stalls total split between the boys and girls locker rooms.

As the Board of Education moves forward with these projects they are hoping to complete these before the renovations begin at the high school football field. This would allow any displaced sports, such as soccer or track to still have a quality field to utilize as the renovations continue.