Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

New Gym Costly Venture

Getting the new gymnasium finished out will be costly for the Gurdon School District.

According to Superintendent Bobby Smithson, there will be three phases in completing the gym. He told the Gurdon School Board, at its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 21, the first phase is well underway. Phase II, they were informed, will get the facility completed with the exception of the bleachers and goals, which will be the final phase.

The district has obligated itself to $738,159 on the project, he said. Once phase I is done, the district will have approximately $167,537 left. Smithson said phase II will cost an estimated $78,367, but this figure could change.

"We made changes and reduced costs," he said. "We're fortunate to get this close. No provisions were made if we go over budget."

The board was told it will take about $114,830 to completely finish the gym.

But, the skies aren't totally black as far as finding the money to finish the gym.

Smithson said the district is eligible, and will most likely receive, about $18,000 from a new facility fund, created this year by the state. He said while the district doesn't have the money yet, he's confident it will get it, and the amount could exceed $18,000.

Unfortunately, though, the district will still have to pay the architect's fee, the construction manager's salary, buy canopy for the sidewalks and has obligated itself for $6,000 for more science equipment and has agreed to pay $1,400 for a new flag pole.

Smithson recommended spending $50,000 from this year's budget and borrowing $100,000 on a revolving loan. This loan would be paid back in six years.

He said the school's contingency fund could be utilized to pay for the gym, but this would deplete the fund.

He also said the district could quit work on the gym and wait until it has more money. The drawback to waiting is construction costs and materials are rising, and it will cost more to complete.

Smithson said the best thing to do is complete Phase II now and worry about Phase III later. The goals, he said, will cost about $5,000. The existing gym has a new clock which will be moved to the new facility once it's completed. However, the big expense will be the bleachers.

Smithson said folding bleachers, such as there are in the current gym, would cost about $70 per seat. The new gym will seat 1,200, which means folding bleachers will cost $84,000.

While the folding bleachers would allow more floor space, permanent bleachers would be less expensive, he said. These would be an estimated $40,000 to install.

The bleachers from the existing gym could be moved to the new facility and refurbished. But, there are only enough seats for 700 fans. This means more bleachers would have to be bought, and there would be no seating in the current gym.

He told the board moving the bleachers from the old gym to the new and refurbishing them will look good, but there could be a problem in matching them when more are added. In addition, a "lot of labor" will be involved.

Smithson restated his recommendation of spending $50,000 from this year's budget and borrowing $100,000 on a revolving loan to the board. "The debt won't be overwhelming," he said. "It's the most feasible option. We'll be making a mistake if we wait because the cost will eat us up."

The board agreed with his recommendation and the district will be taking $50,000 from its budget and borrowing the $100,000 to finish out phase II.

In a similar vein, Smithson talked to the board about a long-range building program.

While the new high school has yet to open, and the gym is not finished, Smithson said people have been questioning him about when the middle school will be moved to the new location and when a football field will be constructed there as well.

He presented board members with a drawing suggesting the location for GMS and the football field.

The middle school would be located near the gym and cafetorium.

"We have room for all facilities," he said of the property GHS is located on. "We need to start work on the field when time and weather permit. We can do the dozer and fill work."

Smithson said the district may have to ask for a millage increase of three or four mills to construct a new GMS and football stadium.

"That would be adequate to build a new GMS," he said. "I've talked with an architect about a floor plan. With it, we can figure costs."

He said under the state's new funding plan the district will receive about $44,800 for its existing debt service. It will get an additional $37,000 from the general facility fund. This would give the district about $82,000 it could spend on construction, Smithson informed the board.

He said the money will not be earmarked for anything in particular.

Because of this potential windfall, he said only a two mill hike may be needed.

"We can do the dirt work," he told the board. "This will save money on the total cost.

"We can do the football stadium, including the aluminum bleachers. The lighting (for a football field) will cost $62,000." He added the bleachers will run about $150,000, bringing the cost to more than $200,000 for a stadium.

"If we do the work, we can pay as we go," the board was informed. "But this is three to five years from now. We don't need to think about it."

Smithson said the field house is nothing more than a metal building on a concrete slab. All the district would have to do to construct the field house would be to pour a slab, unbolt the current structure and move it.

Once it has been put in place, a brick veneer could be erected and new roof put on.

Smithson said the costly part would be the parking lot.

In talking about the current GHS, Smithson said it's just worn out and won't take care of the district's needs for long.

"The bottom line is how quickly we want to do it," he said. "September 1996 will be the earliest we can ask for a tax increase. I think we can pass two mill, but I don't know about four mill. It's not beyond our ability to do it. I don't know about any bond requirements."

In other business, the board was told textbooks were being removed from the operating budget to make the budget more accurate. Smithson said the athletic budget is $2,000 in arrears, while the band is $2,400 in the hole.

However, the band began its year in the red from the 1994-95 year. Smithson said at the end of this year, its budget will be wiped clean and will start with a zero balance for 1996-97.

Talking about athletics, Smithson said it was a good year for football, basically because the team did so well and went to the playoffs. "The gate from Prescott was the largest I can remember," he said.

The Prescott-Gurdon game grossed about $6,000.

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