AVON LAKE — Key design changes to the renovation of Avon Lake High School’s stadium are driving up the budget, and the school board is facing some tough decisions after getting the news in Monday night’s special board meeting.

When Issue 26, a 0.39-mill bond issue, was passed in November, it allotted $5.5 million for the stadium and a new bus garage.

But the original concept for updating the home side seating had to be scrapped because of design problems, and the new design requires the lights behind the grandstand to move, adding to the cost of the project.

Originally, the project was expected to cost $3.5 million. With last night’s bid package submitted by project director Fanning-Howey, the stadium budget is now about $4 million, and that’s before adding some desired features such as more than one toilet in each locker room. Those additions could drive the project’s budget to $4.8 million, and this is with many of the bids coming in well under projections. That would leave just $700,000 for the bus garage.

The stands presented a challenge, explained board president Charles Froelich. The original plan called for installing new seating on the existing structure and widening the aisles to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Then, new stands would be built on either side of the old stands so that all Avon Lake fans could sit on the home side of the field. But as the design process went on, it was discovered that the stands on each side would be obstructed in their views down the field by the required guard rails. To get the desired number of seats, it was decided that new stands — deeper and higher — would be built, which would necessitate moving the two light poles flanking the existing stands.

The new stands would increase the home side’s seating capacity to 3,072. Other improvements include adding restrooms that would also be ADA compliant, building seating for the marching band and installing artificial turf.

Some of the desired projects that would add $800,000 to the cost include upgrading the lighting, adding storage areas for maintenance and track and field supplies under the grandstands, building a freestanding home concession stand, removing the existing press box and installing it at the baseball field, installing low-maintenance vinyl-coated fencing, roughing in a future scoreboard and adding more toilets to the locker rooms. Another addition to the project would be powder-coating the galvanized steel grandstand structure, which would help it last longer.

The board has to make some decisions fast, said Ronald Fanning of Fanning-Howey. The price of steel is increasing, he said, and while that’s being absorbed by the contractors now, that won’t go on indefinitely. Also, if the board decides to go with the powder-coating, that needs to be decided before the steel is ordered.

Fanning added that the schedule is extremely tight for the project to be finished before mid-August, when the new school year’s activities get underway.

Froelich moved to have a special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday to vote on the new bids.

“I didn’t walk in expecting to be talking $4.8 million,” board member Dale Cracas said. “I want time to go over the numbers.”

Superintendent Robert Scott urged the board not to be penny wise and pound foolish. Waiting on some of the upgrades would make them costlier to add on down the road, he pointed out. Public priorities are seating, restrooms and concessions, and artificial turf, he said.

“The last time this facility was touched was in 1959,” he said. “It might be another 50 years before we get to do anything again. Let’s not spend what is a great deal of money and end up with an inferior project by being shortsighted. Let’s do it correctly to begin with.”

Contact Melissa Hebert at 329-7129 or mhebert@chroniclet.com.

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