The Habersham County School System is moving forward with plans to upgrade the high school football stadium, track and field.
Monday night, the Board of Education heard from Director of Facilities and Maintenance Denise Gunn that a committee has met twice to discuss plans for a stadium renovation that will be beneficial “for all students.” Tuesday morning there will be another meeting of that committee, and it will issue an advertisement for specialty design and construction firms to apply for interviews with the committee. There will be a mandatory site visit for the firms. Gunn said she knows there are four to six U.S. companies that will offer a “turnkey” operation – meaning they can plan, design, and build an entire project. There will be planning for the running track to be reworked, and the football field and the track need to become level, she said. She listed a number of additional improvements that could be made, adding that “we will take what we can afford.”
Board member Rick Williams said, “if we’re going to do something, let’s do it right.”
Funding for the improvement project was not discussed in Gunn’s presentation, but she said her committee estimates a total project timeline of three months. Board member Russ Nelson said he anticipates that there will be “a variety of company applications.” Gunn agreed, and said “we will go with the one that has the best history.” She said the projected timetable for the construction/renovation projects at Raider Stadium — October 23 through mid-February — “will not interfere with a lot.”
Board chairman Robert Barron said, “There is such a group of individuals who want to see this come about…I know we will get what we need.”
