Staff photos / Dan Pompili Austintown Schools Superintendent Tim Kelty shows off the faceplate of the Fitch “F” that will mark the front of the new elevator shaft in front of the bleachers. The elevator is set to arrive next week and should be ready to carry guests to the press box and upper-level seating on the home side.
AUSTINTOWN — Attendees at school sporting events can expect a different experience this season. sjec parts 1
The second phase of Austintown Local Schools’ $15 million capital improvement to athletic facilities is well on schedule for completion during the early part of football season, and Phase III is underway.
The newest addition on the verge of completion is an 8,000-square-foot facility below the home-side bleachers, including new restrooms, locker rooms for boys and girls soccer and softball, equipment storage and an elevator to the press box and upper-level handicap seating.
Superintendent Tim Kelty and Operations and Facilities Manager Matt Bostian took time this week to show off the progress to The Vindicator and discuss what is coming next.
“Our schools must be reflective of the needs and goals of the Austintown community,” Kelty said. “This is a comprehensive plan, because we believe the school is a great focal point of this community, and it always has been. So we are committed to our kids, our staff, alumni and community members.”
Last year, attendees used the brand new bleachers and press box, a $2.4 million project that replaced the old bleachers that school officials said were on the verge of failing state inspection.
At the time, Treasurer Blaise Karlovic said the district decided the full replacement was a better investment than spending $1 million just to shore up the bleachers for maybe another 10 years.
“Or we could put in a 40-year solution,” he said.
Austintown also landed a $191,000 Ohio EPA Recycling and Litter Prevention Grant that allowed it to use recycled tire material to resurface the track and some athletic fields.
The track is completely resurfaced and track and field lines will be repainted within two weeks, Bostian said.
Football season begins Aug. 23, and Bostian said the bathrooms should be open for that game. Bostian said fire and utilities inspections were happening this week so the district can apply for occupancy permits. There are men’s and women’s restrooms at both ends of the stadium and a family bathroom in the middle.
The elevator shaft is already completed and sided. Bostian said the elevator is set to arrive next week. At the top of the elevator shaft will be a large Fitch “F” that lights up at night.
Last month, the district broke ground on Phase 3, a 40,000-square-foot all-sports indoor training facility, with a 55-yard field, to serve the district’s student athletes. Fitch High School has fielded between 675 and 715 athletes across all sports over the past two years, Kelty said. That facility’s cost is covered within the $15 million price tag for the overall renovations.
“It’s just a great thing for our school district to have,” Kelty said.
In addition to indoor training and practice, the facility will provide classroom space, and Kelty said it will allow room for students in Fitch’s new drone program to operate their devices in inclement weather.
In March, the district received a $950,000 Ohio Career and Technical Education Equipment Grant from the Ohio Department of Education for career-based education. The drone program was updated with new, state-of-the-art drones, and industry-recognized credentials for operating them. Students can graduate high school and secure jobs for realty firms, TV news stations and other businesses that employ drones.
The district also took a page from the EPA grant playbook, and recycled blacktop material from the parking lot that once stood where the new facility will be, at the north end of campus, just behind the visitor’s side concession stand.
The district used that material to fill in the area around the baseball field where the ground below the bleachers had sunken about four to five feet below the surface of the parking lot.
Subgrading and foundational work are underway. Davis Drive remains closed for now while the district runs utility lines to the area, but Bostian said it will be open for buses and event access once the school year begins.
The new facility is scheduled to open next fall.
Additional improvements within the scope of the project include new lighting for the softball field, live-feed security cameras all around to increase safety, and Wi-Fi to better serve broadcasters covering school sports. The blacktop area around the track also will be resealed, and the district is installing new stormwater retention tanks on the north side of campus.
“We’ve got a saying here — Fitch never stops,” Kelty said.
Once the new all-sports facility is complete, Bostian and Kelty said they have their eyes set upon a new wellness center to go right next to it, above the football field. That facility, they said, also will include classrooms.
Kelty said fundraising will be necessary for that project.
Kelty said he is not concerned about costs. The district has not asked for a levy since 1996, and he and Bostian said they have saved more than $3 million on the project by reevaluating the materials and fixtures they feel are actually necessary.
“We’re getting the product we need, and what we want, and getting it right where we need it to be, and we’re doing it at the best possible cost,” Bostian said.
Including the ODE grant for career development, Austintown has secured more than $1.8 million from competitive grants covering everything from reading programs and attendance coordinators to security systems and heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades.
Have an interesting story? Contact Dan Pompili by email at dpompili@vindy.com. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @TribToday.
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