By Scott Mitchell Johnson Staff Writer
ASHLAND — The third and final phase of SAD 32’s $24 million building project is expected to be completed in the coming months.
According to Superintendent Gehrig Johnson, Phase III has included constructing the soccer, baseball and softball fields, working on the infields, building dugouts, and other landscaping work at the Ashland District School Athletic Complex.
“When we set out on this building project back in 2006, it was a three-phase project,” he said. “Phase I was the planning and permitting phase, Phase II was the actual building process, and the third phase was construction of ball fields and landscaping of the grounds. That’s taken two years, and we’re just now finishing it up. Phase III should be completed by Nov. 30.”
Ashland’s boys’ and girls’ soccer teams started playing on the fields last year even though they weren’t quite completed, and this spring the baseball and softball teams played on their partially completed fields.
“The major construction piece that’s been going on the last two months includes installing home and away dugouts on both the baseball and softball fields. They’re constructed from masonry block so they should be able to withstand the test of time,” said Joel Hall, athletic director. “The slab has been poured, the masonry block walls are all up, and the roofs and shelving on the inside are all done; we are just waiting for them to be painted and have some chain link fencing put up across the front of them to provide a protective barrier for the kids who are using them.”
Crews have also been working to correct a slight erosion problem.
“When we put our new scoreboards in, they had to dig post holes, and some of that gravel leaked down into the ditches and blocked them, so we were having some water issues at the beginning of the season,” said Hall. “Crews are re-seeding some banks, they put down crushed rock, and they’ve re-ditched some areas to help control the water flow a little bit better.”
With such a wet summer, the grass hasn’t filled in as nicely as officials would have hoped.
“The grass — where it’s taken — is growing well, but it hasn’t filled in as much as we would have liked, so that will be one of our focuses this fall,” Hall said. “We’ll get some more seed in those areas and hopefully it will take over the winter and we can get some good grass growing next spring.”
Johnson said he is pleased with the five-acre athletic complex, and will be glad to see the construction project come to a successful conclusion.
“I think the public will be proud of these facilities,” he said.
“It’s a beautiful facility with state-of-the-art lights, so the teams can now play at night,” said Johnson. “Students have waited a long time for something like this, and I think everyone is pleased.”
Hall agreed.
“The complex is really starting to take shape. The kids are very proud of their facility, and the more we do to it, the more pride shows in both the kids and the community,” he said. “We’ve even received positive comments from visiting crowds telling us how nice the place looks.
“For a Class D school, as small as we are, it’s a professional looking area,” said Hall, “which was one of our goals. We take a lot of pride in our performing arts center, our gymnasium, and our classrooms, and now we can add the athletic complex to that list.”
