By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson outlined summer construction projects during a work session on Monday.
These projects are in addition to the bond-funded construction work ongoing at Felten Elementary School (formerly Hays Middle School) and O'Loughlin Elementary School.
Felten is being remodeled into a four-section elementary school, which is set to open in August.
Two additions are being finished at O'Loughlin. Sewer work will also be completed this summer. The work at O'Loughlin is also set to be done by the start of school in August.
"Last year was crazy busy," Wilson said. "This year will be tremendously busy."
Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent for business, said projects costing more than $20,000 will come to the board for approval.
Lincoln Elementary School was closed at the end of the last school year, and those students were moved to Roosevelt Elementary School. The former school has been sold, and the playground equipment was removed and is in storage.
Lincoln's equipment and Wilson's playground equipment will be installed at Felten Elementary. Wilson said the district hopes to hire a company to do that work. Staff will work this summer to reassemble the playground equipment at Roosevelt.
The HVAC for the Felten's kitchen will be upgraded. The kitchen HVAC is separate from the rest of the school and was not upgraded when the classroom HVAC was upgraded. Wilson said the staff has had issues controlling humidity in that area.
A culvert was added in the area of the new tennis courts at Hays High. Wilson said the district is working on sidewalks so students and spectators can have ADA accessibility to the bathrooms inside the school.
Hipp said the district needs a new swim timing system. The school is borrowing one from another school. He said he did not know if that purchase would be included in the capital budget this year or next.
He said the systems are expensive and cannot be purchased with activity funds alone.
The district plans to add more handicap parking south of the Hays High gym. The area is directly behind the grandstands and is currently dirt. The district plans to add asphalt millings there and eventually pave that area.
"As we have gone through our fall and summer seasons, we know we need handicap parking closer to the building," Wilson said.
The district has a marquee sign it plans to add at the entrance of Hays High on 13th Street. However, it is working with Midwest Energy to route power to the sign.
Some of the classrooms at Hays Middle School have yet to be renovated. The district plans to paint and replace flooring in those classrooms as well as renovate the building's bathrooms.
The district plans to resurface the track at the middle school. Hipp said the tracks need to be resurfaced about every seven years.
Replacement of the teacher parking lot on the east side of the middle school is also planned. That has been in the capital improvement budget for about five years, Wilson said. Replacement of the current O'Loughlin parking lot is planned. Expansion of the parking and drop-off area is part of the bond-funded projects.
Other projects include:
• Tuck pointing at the Wilson building and the Early Childhood Complex
• Felten classroom display panels
• Cabling and wiring at Felten and O'Loughlin. The new wiring has to meet the new city code.
• Furniture for O'Loughlin Elementary School
• Fencing projects
• Concrete installation, including a concrete storage pad for the Hays High metal shop and some sidewalks at the 13th Street site
Replacement of iPads for Hays Middle School and staff is included in the upcoming capital purchases. This is part of the regular technology rotation that is budgeted in the capital outlay plan.
The board also discussed the language in the administrators' and directors' contracts.