Bond projects over Winter Break 2019-2020

Post date: Jan 3, 2020 9:22:42 PM

Pressbox

Over the 2019-2020 Winter Break, the old pressbox atop Custer Stadium was removed to allow for the construction of a much larger and more functional pressbox. The infield at Doenges Memorial Stadium was also dug out to allow for installation of artificial turf on Rigdon Field. Both projects were overwhelmingly approved by voters in an August 2019 bond issue election.

On December 16, 2019, the school board approved a guaranteed maximum price of $2,492,761 from Manhattan Construction Company for the replacement of the pressbox as well as the construction of a new vocational agriculture building on the south end of the Bartlesville High School campus.

Pressbox

Over Winter Break, a crane lifted away the upper level of the pressbox, which had sat top the stadium for 65 years.

The lower level, which had been enclosed some years back to boost the capacity of the tiny pressbox, was dismantled along with its lower sheeting, exposing the original concrete risers.

The new pressbox will extend farther north and south atop the stadium, stretching across the three central seating sections.

It will include split-level rooms for both visiting media and coaches, home media and coaches, and press and scoreboard functions. There will be an open video balcony and a small hospitality room, along with single-user men's and women's restrooms.

An alley elevator on the west side will provide ADA access to the pressbox as well as ADA access to the top internal concessions and restrooms level of Custer Stadium, allowing for the retirement of the original concessions dumbwaiter.

A temporary "doghouse" for spring sports scoreboard operations will be used during the construction of the new pressbox, which is slated for completion by the start of school in August 2020.

Agriculture building

The new vocational agriculture building, which will include classroom and shop space, will be constructed on a south parking lot at the high school, near the Bruin Activity Center indoor practice facility. It is also slated for completion for the start of classes in August 2020.

Baseball infield

The baseball infield at Doenges Memorial Stadium was also being dug out over Winter Break to allow for the installation of artificial turf on Rigdon Field. In October 2019, the school board approved a $569,400 bid from General Sports Surfaces LLC to replace the infields of the baseball field at Doenges Memorial Stadium downtown as well as the softball field just west of Madison Middle School in the northeast part of the city.

Central tuck-and-seal

In November 2019 the school board approved a $129,146 bid from Jim Martin Sr. for a tuck and seal project on the exterior brick at Central Middle School. The building is over a century old and requires this periodic work to reduce the penetration of moisture through the exterior masonry which otherwise damages the interior plaster walls. Bond issues in 2013 and 2016 funded major renovations at Central.

Madison HVAC & serving line

In November the board also approved $109,000 for the installation of 8 HVAC units at Madison Middle School and $15,217 for 8 additional units for the school's gyms. These projects will help complete the replacement of all of the original HVAC equipment at the site, which was installed over a half-century ago when it opened as Sooner High School. The board also approved $14,898.76 to re-tube a boiler at Bartlesville High School.

In October the board approved $10,632 for a hot food serving counter from Curtis Restaurant Supply to replace a failing serving line at Madison's cafeteria.

Safety improvements

The school board has approved $9,000 for weighted roll-down shades for the windows in classroom doors for use across the district during lockdowns. It also approved $40,000 for a dozen new LobbyGuard kiosks for visitor screening at school sites. Those will be used to replace existing LobbyGuard units at each school site as needed.

The board approved $18,415.32 to Pinkley Sales Co. for a solar-powered lighted school crossing system to be installed at 18th Street and Hillcrest Drive to improve the safety of Bartlesville High School students who park in the small lot across Hillcrest Drive. The district pays for the equipment while the City of Bartlesville graciously covers its installation. Additional crosswalk systems for other priority crossing needs will be purchased in the coming months.

In the coming months, the existing security camera systems across the district will be replaced and many additional cameras will be installed.

More to come

By the end of the spring 2020 semester, new route buses will be received, completing the update of the fleet with all buses being from 2016 or later. The older buses will be designated as surplus and available for auction in the summer.

Work will continue over the summer of 2020 with the construction of expanded parking at Ranch Heights Elementary, a car line drive at Central Middle school, the installation of an orchestra stage lift in the BHS Fine Arts Center, and replacing original elevators at Madison Middle School and Bartlesville High School.

The decade-old electronic whiteboards and classroom ceiling projectors at Ranch Heights, Wayside, and Wilson elementary schools will be replaced by new touchscreen displays over the summer, with the remaining three elementary schools receiving that upgrade the following summer. The schools to go first were the ones with the highest numbers of original electronic whiteboards, which are reaching the end of their service life.

Bond funding will also provide new social studies curricular materials for the 2020-2021 academic year, such as electronic textbooks for secondary school students to use with their Chromebooks. It will also fund Chromebook carts for each fifth-grade classroom at each of the six elementary schools for 2020-2021.

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