Construction Updates.
by John Earp
At the July 15th meeting of the Jal Board of Education, construction delays were a topic of particular concern. The district has several current construction projects underway, with the most pressing concern presently being the completion of the new stadium seating.
The new entryway for the administration building is being constructed. The varsity locker room carpet is ready to be delivered, and should be a quick job. The elevator on the new elementary addition is almost done. Once it is done, the workers will be able to finish some of the steel going around the elevator shaft. The ground where the junior high addition will be constructed is finally leveled off, after having to be shored up due to an expected amount of lose sand below the old parking lot that was demolished to make way for the junior high addition. The construction of the addition is now awaiting rebar to arrive.
The new bus barn and the nearby storage construction is still in the design phase, and is projected to be completed in December 2025. The alleyways on either side of the planned indoor athletic complex will require possible replacement of some of the gas and sewer lines in them. Parkhill is working with Stantec and the City to make sure all improvements down the drainage alley meet the City’s specifications. The indoor athletic facility is presently out for bid, according to Lopez. He expects to begin to receive bids in September on that project. The most recent estimate for that project is about $28 million, including the alleyways as well as raising the building up for drainage.
The auditorium still has a few items that need to be replaced, but is 99% complete. The softball parking lot needs landscaping, but the parking lot is usable and 99% complete, according to Lopez. The concession stand will be finished at the latest by December, but hopefully will be fully usable by the Eunice game in October. The security vestibule into the administration building is just beginning to be worked on. The baseball restroom addition is hoped to be finished in December, but might have to be pushed out later based on a buried line that was found in the process. The elementary addition and junior high addition are projected to be completed by June 1, 2025. The indoor athletic facility is projected to be completed in July of 2026.
The new concession stand, with the new restroom facilities, should be finished by the time football season starts, quadrupling the bathroom facilities for football games. A 40-foot Jumbotron screen/scoreboard will be installed once the bricks and columns are in place, with all being slated to be completed by the beginning of the football season.
Artificial turf landscaping is planned for the softball parking lot, totaling about 5000 square feet of turf, in line with the overall plan of minimizing the need for watering and mowing on campus in the future. Demolition of the house on Chester St. just south of the planned indoor athletic field has recently been completed, which will serve as a parking lot for the new indoor athletic field. Parkhill plans to “clean up” the parking area between Panther Gym and Panther Stadium, with parking being eliminated directly in front of the stadium as well as improved storm drainage being directed down the alley. The entryway into the stadium will be constructed between the stadium and the gymnasium.
The junior high courtyard and vocational education improvements, including a covered basketball/pickleball court, greenhouse, artificial turf, pavers, concrete and a new outdoor eating area, are estimated to run $4 million, pending Lasco pricing. The elementary school playground improvements are estimated to cost $1.5 million, pending design. The auditorium steps replacement and rework grading is estimated to cost $500,000 pending design. A new storage building and parking across from the administration office is estimated to cost $1.5 million.