Cloverdale gears up for renovations

Several of the Cloverdale Community School Corp. athletic facilities could be getting a facelift soon.

On Monday, the CCSC board unanimously voted in favor of a proposal provided by Odle McGuire and Shook, Indianapolis, calling for upgrades for athletic facilities in addition to improved security measures at the corporation's three school buildings.

Supt. Carrie Milner approached the board Monday with three projects wrapped into one proposal.

She called for a health, safety and code compliance project, including:

* Gymnasium bleachers and guardrail replacement at the high school, and

* Security access control at all three corporation buildings.

In addition, she called for a sports and athletic project, including:

* Replacement of the football field bleachers and press box and accessibility in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and

* baseball field improvement to include a re-grade/landscape.

Milner also called for a renovation and building update project, which would include replacing exterior doors (and frames as required) at the high school.

Milner said an estimated cost for the project -- without the baseball field improvements -- was roughly $996,000. However, she said adding the baseball field improvements would push the estimated cost to roughly $1 million.

The project calls for two phases, Milner said.

She said the first phase includes schematic design from the architectural firm, in order to analyze the items. Milner said the firm would provide sketches and drawings and a more defined cost for the project by February.

She added the board would then make a decision on what items would be handled.

"There may be some of the things we decide we cannot do," Milner said. "But that's a board decision."

The second phase of the project calls for the completion of the projects through bidding and construction.

Prior to the vote, board member Bobbi Nees expressed concern regarding bleachers at the football field.

She said the proposal called for 1,000 seats on the home side of the field and 500 on the visitor side. Nees then said she had attended a few of the games last year and indicated she did not see that many visitors.

She proposed taking the portable bleachers from the baseball field and moving them to the visitor side of the football field.

However, board members Don Albietz and David Brinkman said the 500 visitor seats would be needed for certain games. Brinkman said at least that many seats were needed when North Putnam played the Clovers.

Milner then said she was only hoping to obtain permission to receive estimates from the firm.

Board Vice President Pamelia Hepfer made the motion with Albietz giving the second.

In other business, the board:

* Recognized elementary student Ashley Minton, middle school student Paige Gruener and high school student Alex Swenson as Students of the Month.

* Approved an interlocal agreement with Old National trails Cooperative by a 7-0 vote.

* Unanimously approved eight facility use requests.

* Approved 21 professional leave requests.

* Approved six field trip requests.

* Approved the employment of Christy Truax as a high school special education teaching assistant.

* Approved the re-hiring of high school volleyball coach Kathy Moore, girls' golf coach Ken Williams, cross country coach Sam Brown, and football coach Jamie Steffy by a 7-0 vote.

The board meets regularly on the second Monday of each month. Its next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Jan. 8.