In recent months, student-athletes may have noticed the changes occurring in the athletic facilities. From the football fields’ summer makeover to the weight room’s impromptu renovations, the building has undergone quite a few large-scale projects just in the first quarter of the year.
When it comes to big installments such as the football field, repairs are planned in advance and budgeted for accordingly.
“We know the life cycle of different fields or bleachers or whatever it might be. And can usually plan a few years in advance to fix them. The football field was around 12 years old, and usually between 10 and 15 years old they are going to need to be replaced.” Said NAFCS Chief Financial Officer Chris Street. Other projects, such as the supports added to the track above the gym, were more unexpected.
“They noticed that the track was bouncing when the kids ran on it, so we got a structural engineer in here to look at it, and his suggestion was to put more beams in to support it,” said NAFCS Chief Operating Officer Joe Velker. The realization that the track needed more support came from the advice of an engineer who was at FC looking at the weight room, another unexpected project that came to light when flags were raised regarding potential issues with air quality in specific areas of the school.
“This evaluation was conducted at the request of your Director of Facilities to address concerns that were brought to his attention that may be related to indoor air quality of the school,” states the Indiana Department of Health air quality report published in August. The air quality issue looked into a number of factors, from fungal spores and mold particles in the air to relative humidity and carbon dioxide levels. Over time, high humidity can lead to mold growth, which was the main concern regarding the weight room.
“What they did is they compared the outside air to the inside air, and the outside air has more mold count than the inside air in all these places, all these areas that they tested the Department of Health, I spoke to the guy personally, and it is in their estimations that we are in compliance,” said Principal Scott Hatton. While there were no concerns found in the study regarding mold counts, there were some concerns with the functionality of the HVAC system with high humidity levels in both the weight room and the surrounding area, along with high carbon dioxide levels found in the boys locker room.
Before Fall break, the issue was on hold, waiting to be resolved, leaving the weightlifting teachers to get creative with how to help combat the air quality concerns.
“It was an extra credit assignment to bring in a plant. They posted it on the Instagram page for the weightlifting room, so almost every single person brought one in.” said weightlifting student Ronan Clayton. The use of plants to purify the air is scientifically supported, linked to their ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
“Mr. Zollman was having students bring in plants to help keep the air fresh and purified. Plants will take carbon dioxide out, and help filter out toxins that are in the air,” said Hatton. Luckily, the plants will no longer be needed due to an extensive project done over fall break to clean and repair the duct system near the auxiliary gym.
“We decided, out of an abundance of caution, to have a thorough, deep cleaning of the weightlifting room and the auxiliary gym. And with this thorough cleaning, it’s not only going to be the outside of the vents and all that, but it’s also the inside ductwork as well,” said Hatton. Air quality is directly related to the ability of air to properly circulate, which can be easily impeded by faults in the duct system. The work done to the duct system was not the only maintenance needed for the weight room; the floors also were replaced due to damage caused by the stress of power lifting.
“We moved where they dropped the weights to the first floor because it was chipping the top layer of the concrete but the structural engineer didn’t have any concerns about the integrity of the structure, it was more of a we don’t want to get back in the situation again where we have to come in and do those cosmetic repairs.” said Street. In lieu of moving the power weights back upstairs, it was decided to renovate an area for exercise.
“We did renovate a closet area to do the drop weights in, since we did not want to put it back on the second floor,” said Street. When it comes to sudden projects like the weight rooms renovations, budgeting ahead of time is vital. Similar to the recommendation for homes to have emergency funds, the district budgets for any unexpected maintenance that may pop up.
“An emergency allocation is going to be used for safety-type items. And this was one that we felt needed to be addressed once the engineer made the recommendation on it.” said superintendent Travis Madison. Maintenance issues are bound to pop up at any school but with one as old as FC the issues are inevitable.
“This one had a remodel and obviously a lot of stuff was done at one point in time, but there’s still parts of this building that are substantially aged. So, we want to make sure we take care of any issues and do preventive maintenance to take care of those issues,” said Madison.
The Future Of The FC Softball Field Up For Discussion
There have been murmurings about a future project involving FC’s softball field. The girls’ field, which sits near Little Indian Creek, has a long history of getting flooded by surging water when it rains. Due to the frequency of the flooding, there have been plans made to move the field to somewhere a bit drier.
“We’re in the process of looking at trying to move the field because every spring we end up having to repair it because the flood comes in and runs through the dirt,” said Street. Nothing about the field’s potential move has been confirmed; the project has yet to be fully set in stone, but there is considerable discussion about the possibility.
“Right now, we are looking right out here by Galena, there past the old Galena school. There’s a big area, and we actually have it staked out right so we can get a visual,” said Street.
While it may not be clear now where the future of the softball field lies, in the coming months, a decision will be made regarding the final home of the field.
