GC School Board expresses dissatisfaction over capital projects status

By Kelsie Hoitomt

GLENWOOD CITY – The topic of the capital projects continued to be the big discussion item during the school board meeting Monday night in Glenwood City.

As the President of the Board of Education, Charles Rasmussen had no problem expressing his displeasure over the mishaps that have occurred with the projects.

 His biggest concern with the science labs seemed to be the fact that the walls were not rebuilt with concrete blocks, instead it was “steel beams and bolts” when it should have been concrete like the rest of the school, in his opinion.

On the outside projects, Rasmussen has been vocal about his displeasure of the placement of the drain pond as it is too close to the pole vault, long jump and triple jump runways.

Rasmussen continued to say that the original blue print/drawing the Board saw seemed to be a bit different than what has been actually laid out and constructed.

He raised the question of who designed the track and what prior experience do they have with building such a project.

This has been questioned since the track now in place, currently cannot be used because one end has a crack that needs to be sealed.

The end had been repaired, but the repairs now are not done to the satisfaction of the Board because of that crack and ripples on the running surface.

The crack happened because a 90 degree cut was made instead of a 45 degree angle, which was the plan. This cut was made in order to help extend the maintenance apron that was to be two feet long.

And due to excessive moisture after the repair, the surface rippled where it was supposed to be smooth.

The question was also raised about the fence that is around the track and the fact that it is a six foot fence and because of that, onlookers can not view the sporting area clearly. The question was who made the decision on the six foot tall fence versus something like a four foot tall fence.

Superintendent Tim Emholtz took note of what Rasmussen questioned and said that he would look into finding answers and solutions to each problem addressed.

Emholtz further stated that things were not going to be perfect, to which Rasmussen had a strong reaction of “why can’t things be perfect, why do we always have to settle for mediocre”.

Prior to the heated discussion, the Buildings, Grounds and Transportation committee made note of the fact that the bleachers have not arrived on time. They were to ship Tuesday and be delivered on Thursday.

However, the football game that was scheduled at home on Friday has been changed and will now be played at Frederic due to the complications with the projects.

Also mentioned in the report was that rooms 403 and 404 in the high school are in need of new flooring due to the current carpeting beginning to heave up and fall apart. Currently the committee is looking into bids for floor tiling. The plan is to redo the floor during the Thanksgiving break this fall.

Lastly for projects inside the school, there has been an unexpected mishap to the high school gym floor. Over the weekend of the fourth of July, a valve leaked, which pooled up water on the floor, which in turn settled into the wood and wrecked the gym floor.

It is supposed to take about three weeks for that portion of the floor to be re-sanded and varnished. On a positive note, there are no home volleyball games, so there will be no need for rescheduling.

Other Business

In other business, a handful of items were approved by the Board, including the acceptance of a $5,000 donation from Rasmussen and his wife Barb, which is to go towards the renovation and upgrading of the athletic complex.

Also approved was the posting for the positions, with the parameters set by the Board, of a Community Education director and two food service positions.

This motion of having two, part-time workers for five hours a day was made instead of having one, full-time worker.

Also approved was the re-hiring of Carrie Hentz as the Technology coach for the 2013-14 school year.

Then in the Superintendent’s report, the Board approved the resolution, affirming the adoption of the amendment to the School District of Glenwood City “Employees Savings Plan 403b.” Rasmussen and board member Kevin Bonte abstained from this vote.

Lastly, the Board approved a resolution authorizing the withdrawal from the Local Government Property Insurance Fund for the District’s property liability insurance coverage. The Board agreed to approve this motion with the understanding that there would be no lapse in coverage.

The next meeting to be held will be the Annual Meeting and Budget Hearing, which will take place on Monday, September 9 with the meeting at 7:30 p.m. and the Budget Hearing at 7:00 p.m.