Matthew Burnette, Staff Writer

Carden-Jarrell Football Stadium could be seeing some major improvements after the Coffee County School Board approved for Wold Architects to begin the bidding process for the work at the Dec. 8 meeting.

The improvements, which could cost up to $2.5 million, listed in the motion made by Board member Robert Gilley include remodeling the visitors’ locker room, converting the current concessions stand into two locker rooms that would also be used by track and field and cross country, adding track storage underneath the home-side stands, adding a building that includes concessions, a referee locker room and ticket booth, and removing the existing ticket booth.

Board member Scott Hansert opened the discussion on the motion by stating that he’s for the improvements but shared concerns about the time frame.

“I’ve been bombarded with concerns about this since we’re trying to build a Hickerson Elementary as well as an East Coffee Elementary that are right at $67 million,” he said of the schools that he described as “busting at the seams.”

“Even if we approve this, I don’t know that right now is the time to do this. I’m not against it. I just think that the timing is not where it needs to be at this specific time.”

Hansert also cited recent projects like new bleachers in the high school gym and lighting that’s being installed at some of the county’s athletic fields with a cost of $1.5 million as reasons to hold off on stadium improvements.

Board Chairman Thomas Ballard asked Deputy Director Kelvin Shores where the funding for the new school buildings and the stadium improvements will come from.

Shores clarified that the funding for the new schools would come from the County Commission while the stadium improvements would come from the school system’s Fund Balance.

Gilley said that he didn’t see the work as a waste of taxpayer dollars but as infrastructure that children in the county use.

“We’re always going to be obligated for updating, remodeling, repair, whatever the case may be of our capital image and our capital pieces and parts,” he said. “This is a Fund Balance issue if we choose to go that route. If not, it’s still utilizing the taxpayer funds on our children, and it’s nothing to do with the funding for the two schools.

“I don’t think we can do enough to all of the avenues of capital that we currently have,” he added.

Board member Holly Matthews noted that she had received a pair of phone calls explaining that some of the other sports in the county were in “great need” of things that have been overlooked, citing additional help needed by some of the baseball programs.

“I think that people are just seeing the price tag on it and they know that their program hasn’t received the respect or support that they felt like they have earned,” she stated. “I didn’t get a positive vibe from those two calls.”

“I think that there’s kind of a feeling that football gets a lot more than other programs, and I’m not saying if that’s true or not true,” she added.

Gilley responded that other sports like track and field and soccer utilize the stadium, as well as the high school’s graduation ceremony.

 “That is the most used facility in our system, period,” he stated. “That is our image.”

Matthews said that she felt that the changes were needed, especially after hearing about the “pathetic” conditions of where referees have to go for games.

“At the same time, I would love to see metal detectors go in if we’re talking about where we’re putting our money and where we’re putting our priorities,” she said. “That’s just a thought.”

Gilley agreed with the idea of metal detectors but said something along those lines would likely be funded by grants or other opportunities.

Board member Freda Jones agreed with the changes that were being proposed, specifically the visitors’ locker room upgrade, likening the stadium to someone’s house.

“If it’s a nasty bathroom and a nasty house, you automatically think that person is not up to par, and it gives a bad image of our school system,” she said. “I’m for not wasting taxpayer money, but we need certainly to do that (update the visitors’ locker room).”

“If your front porch is dirty, nobody cares what’s in the house,” added Gilley.

Deputy Director Shores encouraged the Board that the project was something they wanted to do before approving the bidding process.

“If you’re not thinking that you’re going to move forward with the project, then why would you put it out to bid?” he asked. “The Board decided to move forward with the drawings, so they’ve done the drawings and had their meetings. Now it’s ready to go to bid or we stop it. It’s up to the Board what you want to do.”

The bidding process for the Carden-Jarrell Stadium improvements will cost approximately $6,500 according to Shores in an email after the meeting.

Gilley modified his original motion to take out the removal of the current ticket booth after he and Jones both agreed that it could possibly be utilized for other purposes, but then modified that motion to go back to the original with the specification that the bids should be line-item bids so the Board can pick individually which projects to move forward with.

Both modifications were made with a second by Gary Cordell, the second on the original motion

The motion passed 6-1 with Hansert casting the sole no vote. Board members Jennifer Peacock Hodge and Beth Yentsch were both absent.