Mark Stotts

Austin Public Schools director of finance and operations

Facilities and maintenance operations are a critical function performed in school districts. Most homeowners realize that if repairs and updates are neglected, a home can deteriorate or become out of date rather quickly. The same holds true for school facilities.

The community of Austin can be proud of their school facilities. From Austin High School, originally constructed in 1921, to I.J. Holton Intermediate School, constructed in 2013, all of the facilities have been and will continue to be maintained and upgraded for the benefit of our students and the community as a whole.

Austin Public Schools maintains a 10-year capital plan that is updated and revised on an annual basis. The district has invested approximately $20 million over the past five years maintaining and updating existing facilities. Examples of typical projects include roof repairs/replacements, HVAC upgrades, sprinkler systems, gym floor replacements, window replacements, and more.

In addition, approximately $30 million was invested in new construction at I.J. Holton Intermediate School and Woodson Kindergarten Center during that time period.

The Wescott Athletic Complex is a very important facility that is used extensively for both youth and high school sports, as well as adult activities such as tennis and walking/running. The most recent stadium/track/tennis court upgrades were completed in 2006. Nothing was done to improve the actual stadium field or practice fields at that time. Initially, this was included in the districts’ 10-year capital plan.

The current dome/turf project was developed by the Vision 2020 Community Recreation Center committee, of which the Austin Public Schools is a partner along with the City of Austin, Riverland Community College, and the Austin YMCA. The plan entails the installation of artificial turf on the Art Hass Stadium field as well as the track field. In addition, a seasonal dome will be included over the stadium field.

Austin Public Schools has been given the exceptional opportunity to leverage an investment of $2.5 million by partnering with The Hormel Foundation on this project. The total cost of the project is approximately $5.2 million, with The Hormel Foundation contributing $2.7 million. Keep in mind that renovations would have been needed to the existing fields and were included in the districts’ 10-year capital plan. There will be no property tax impact as a result of the investment in this project.

Artificial turf has many advantages over traditional sod fields. They are as follows:

1. Increased playability — artificial turf fields can be used continuously and require no recovery time. They are much more durable than natural grass.

2. Safety — artificial turf fields do not get tore up by continuous play and provide a more even playing surface.

3. Lower maintenance costs — artificial turf fields are not required to be watered, mowed, or treated with pesticides and fertilizers.

4. Improved practice fields — the artificial turf fields will be used for football/soccer practices, which will relieve the pressure on the sod turf practice fields and allow them more recovery time.

The seasonal dome will go up in November and come down in April each year. This multi-purpose facility will be available for many types of activities, including: running/walking, softball/baseball, soccer, lacrosse, football, marching bands, and more.

A business plan has been developed utilizing information from the RCTC dome in Rochester and the dome at the Minnetonka Public Schools. Revenues from rental of the facility will cover the operational costs and replacement of the turf. There will be no property tax impact from the operations of the dome.

Organizations from other communities have already been inquiring about the availability of the dome. This will lead to increased economic opportunities for local businesses as people come to Austin.

It is an exciting time for the community of Austin. This project will break ground in late April/early May and will be completed in August. We look forward to seeing the Packers play on these fields next fall.