By Lee Reinsch
Correspondent
DE PERE – School construction and upgrade projects are underway and so far, at least, under budget, according to representatives from the firms involved.
The West De Pere school board heard from Bray Architect’s Clint Selle and Miron Construction pre-construction executive, Craig Sachs, Monday, June 17, at the school board meeting.
“Dust has been flying and things are happening,” said Selle in regards to two out of the three projects slated for this year: the remodeling and updating of Westwood Elementary School and the renovations at West De Pere Middle School.
Softball fields at Westwood Elementary, which are to be moved there from their present location on the West De Pere Middle School grounds, have been delayed slightly, due to the permitting process with the Department of Natural Resources.
For one thing, the process for permit application couldn’t begin until April, as stipulated by the DNR.
Then one expert found the future softball field site could be classified as or contain wetlands, while another expert had a different viewpoint.
“We reached out to get a second opinion, and they did not agree on the characteristics of the wetland soil, and also, whether it’s native versus manmade,” Selle said. “We’re trying to prove it’s an artificial wetland versus a native wetland.”
He said the DNR’s mapping of soil types triggered the process.
“They look at three things: soil type, natural wetland vegetation and the hydrology contours of the land,” Selle said. “The first (expert) said that all three boxes were checked.”
The same process was done on the grounds of the middle school and high school, and it was determined that the high school grounds are not wetlands, while there’s a slight possibility that a small area on grounds of the middle school could be classified as wetlands.
Ground won’t be broken on West De Pere High School projects until December.
The following month, in January, ground will be broken and work started on the new intermediate school.
“One thing to accelerate is the bleachers (at West De Pere High School),” Selle said.
There’s currently space for 1,150 fans on the home side bleachers; the new configuration will more than double that accommodation, at 2,400, he said.
Bathrooms will be located under the bleachers.
“It seems like there will be more than enough restrooms, but on game day you’re always standing in line and it never seems like enough,” Selle said.
Safety issues
Designs at the high school will try to discourage traffic or minimize traffic access to a passway road that goes around the east side of the school, which Superintendent John Zegers said could be dangerous.
“I told (the City of De Pere) that someone is going to get hurt,” Zegers said.
The passway is designed for the convenience of buses and delivery trucks, but drivers or students could use it as a short cut and go speeding through it, Zegers said.
“Someone could open a door (from the school onto the passway road) …. and it would be horrendous,” Zegers said. “We have to take a stand on this.”