NCSD sets public hearings for new stadium bleachers, baseball field additions

Two separate public hearings will be held during a future Newton school board meeting to allow the community to provide feedback on the use of Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) dollars to construct a concession stand and bathrooms for the baseball field and new bleachers at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

Both public hearings will be held during the regular school board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 13, 2025, at the E.J.H. Beard Administration Center.

Tim Bloom, director of business services at the Newton Community School District, said school board members may want to increase the amount that would be used for the bleachers. Bloom allocated $700,000 for the project, but the cost estimates from FRK Architects + Engineers recommend $729,500.

School board member Travis Padget asked if it would be worth it to make the amount even larger to account for potentially higher bids for the project later on in the process. Bloom said if the project costs came in much higher than estimated then the district could use Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) funds.

“That’s what we did with our baseball field,” Bloom said to school board members. “That came in above the dollar amount. We had planned on that and then transferred some of that (PPEL) over. I’m fine either way, but I think it would be best if we just amended it now in order to avoid confusion.”

School board members would go on to vote 7-0 to amend the estimated cost of the resolution from $700,000 to $800,000.

Accessibility of the H.A. Lynn Stadium bleachers were brought to light by a citizen who voiced his concerns about the lack of handrails in some areas. Tom Hollander urged school board members in September to make improvements, leading to productive board discussions with engineer input.

Hollander reflected on his issues with bleachers, saying he and his wife cannot climb the stairs anymore without the assistance of handrails. But it isn’t just a personal issue. Hollander argued it is a community issue that has likely affected spectators of Cardinal football games for a long time.

“I never thought 40 years ago, 30 years ago, 10 years ago that there were people there having the same issue that I’m having today,” Hollander said. “And at Friday night at the game I would have been trying to navigate those steps and the new play thing they have at the new stadium is the new strobe lights.”

For a person with balance issues, that could create hardships, Hollander argued. It was already hard enough to go up the stairs with the lights on, he said. The easiest way to resolve the issue, Hollander added, would be for him and his wife to stop going to games. But that’s not what he wants either.

In response to Hollander’s request, the district had its civil engineer provide additional context to board members about the facility and give them options if they wanted to move forward with accessibility projects that go beyond just the bleachers. For instance, accessibility at the high school has been an issue.

Rachelle Hines of FRK Architects + Engineers said in the past the district has discussed adding ramps and handrails on the home side of the stadium.

While some areas of the stadium are not currently ADA compliant, Hines said they are grandfathered in because of the time they were built. But it would be possible for the district to make some updates to the stadium to bring the bleachers up to current code requirements.

Ramps would need to be installed, stair widths would need modified, handrails need to be added and guardrails would need to be raised. Currently, H.A. Lynn Stadium can seat less than 1,000 people. The concession stand and bathrooms are part of the second phase of the baseball field project.

Bloom said the estimated cost for the project is $758,000, but the resolution set the SAVE fund allotment for $800,000.

In December 2022, the Newton school board moved ahead with the construction of the new baseball field. The diamond has already been constructed and is very much operational. The project cost about $3 million and was financed with SAVE and PPEL funds. It is located across the street from the district’s softball complex and H.A. Lynn Stadium.