Windsor school board votes to resurface track

By JEFF EPSTEIN
[email protected]
WINDSOR, Vt. — The Windsor school board revisited the issue of repairing the athletic track at the high school Monday, and decided to proceed with the project.

The board voted to obligate up to $300,000 from the capital reserve fund for the resurfacing of the track. (An earlier board meeting discussing the track was thought to handle this expense, but it was apparently necessary to handle the matter with a vote at this meeting.)

Facilities manager Jim Taft told the board that it would cost $293,875 to resurface the track, which has not been overhauled in 18 years. The new surface would last about 10 years.

One specific cost is the actual color of the track. It is currently green, but that color costs more money, as most athletic tracks these days are a color akin to red clay. 

“You’re talking a lot of money for that color green,” perhaps as much as $15,000, Taft said. A variety of greens are available, and he recommended getting as close as possible to the school’s official green color.

“It’s something that our town has been very proud of, our track,” said chair Amy McMullen. “As track facilities go, we have one of the best.”

With Monday’s approval, the project is now set to go. “We would get started right after graduation,” said Taft. After graduation on or about June 7, the project will  take about six weeks.

In another facilities item, the board also voted to send out a request for proposals for various roof repair projects at the school. Taft has an estimate of $84,500 to fix the middle school roof. Work on the “State Street Roof” is also necessary and is being priced now.

The board set an expense ceiling of $230,000 on the RFP projects, to be paid from the capital reserve fund.

The capital reserve fund has about $800,000 in it. The board briefly considered and voted to use some of this as a tax stabilization fund to lower the tax rate for the coming year. However, the board later changed its mind, not wishing to give up dedicated funds that could be used for capital projects as intended.

The board voted to rescind its earlier vote, thereby freeing the full fund for the track and roofing expenses addressed at this meeting.