District mum on stalled track repairs
CANONSBURG – Canon-McMillan School District officials were mum on the status of stalled track repairs after a parent said at Thursday’s school board meeting she’s worried it won’t be open by spring.
“We’re frustrated beyond belief. We really can’t comment beyond that,” said school board President Paul Scarmazzi after parent Jamie Sisson, of Smith Street, told the school board the track is unusable.
“What I can say now is that we were made aware of installation issues and we’ve halted the project. We don’t have a timetable for it,” said Superintendent Michael Daniels.
The stadium closed in June for repair work to the football field and track.
In May, the board approved a plan to install turf and resurface the track at a cost of about $1.2 million. Nagle Athletic Surfaces Inc., received the contract to resurface the track at a cost of $312,480. The contract to replace the turf, which was deemed unsafe for use after dips and bumps were found on the artificial surface, was awarded to ProGrass at a cost of $914,050.
Both projects were scheduled for completion by the final week of August, and the football field is finished.
In other athletics business, the board voted 6-0 to approve a $950 agreement with Washington County Entertainment to allow the baseball and softball teams to use Consol Energy Park in the 2016-17 season. John Fink and Joe Zupancic were absent.
“It gives our kids a fantastic opportunity to play in a professional facility,” said board member Darla Bowman-Monaco. Daniels said three games and a doubleheader for the baseball team are scheduled for the two varsity teams.
School officials also unveiled a new website that allows the public to follow along in real time with the votes school board members take at meetings.
“You don’t have to be here. All the votes and information will be logged right into the web browser program,” said Daniels. The site is www.boarddocs.com/pa/cnmc/Board.nsf.
Brenda Rupert, executive assistant to the superintendent, said almost all matters would be viewable immediately, except for personnel decisions, which would be published online the following day.
In regular business, the school board heard a presentation from Canon-McMillan Horizon Foundation, an independent fundraising charity aiming to donate to the district. The foundation’s president, Amy D’Amico, said the group hit some financial snags.
“We owe the attorney firm … nearly $8,000 in fees for them advising us on all our tax filings and forming as a nonprofit,” she said, explaining the group still hopes to hand over $10,000 it recently received from a private donor, leaving the organization with a fund balance of $3,000.
D’Amico said the group started fundraising and organization efforts in 2012, and will continue to try to recoup cash as they negotiate forgiveness of the legal debt, or a monthly payment plan.
School directors also approved eminent domain compensation to Dennis Lemaster and Charles Miller for property needed for the Muse Elementary School property. Each received $1,800 for the district to take separate 12-foot strips of their properties along Locust Street to make room for the new building.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Daniel Balzer and Patty Gregorcyzk said they’re upset the district hasn’t moved a school bus stop on South Central Avenue.
“It’s a bus stop with a blind spot, in front of a bar that opens at 7 in the morning,” Gregorcyzk said.
“The issues with safety, we believe it’s safe and has plenty of visibility for pedestrians and drivers. Some stores and restaurants have liquor licenses, and kids may walk past them, but this isn’t an issue of safety,” said Daniels.