Property deemed usable
CALIFORNIA – Core borings show that the land near California Area High School under consideration as the site of a new “wellness” center is suitable for construction. Dennis Martinak of Mackin Engineering, whose firm has been hired to prepare a master site plan for athletic facilities and a fitness center near the high school, said core borings found rock at five and six feet, which Martinak said is “fantastic” for construction. Rock was found at the 12-foot level on the nearby hillside, which Martinak said is also good, and between 18 and 23 feet in the wooded area, which contains fill. Martinak said even that area is still good enough for construction with some modification.
The question remains, what will be built on the land? The district has been considering building a new administrative office on the same campus as the district schools, and there has been talk of building a new athletic complex in addition to Booster Field because of the high demand for field time in the district.
But the big-ticket item under consideration is a “wellness” center that could be used by the students and by the community. State Rep. Peter J. Daley initially pitched the idea to California Borough Council, but when the project failed to progress, he asked the school district to consider the project. Daley said the $2 million in the state capital budget earmarked for the project survived the most recent budget negotiations.
“I can assure you that the $2 million is still there for this project,” Daley said during Thursday’s ad hoc committee meeting on the wellness center project.
“You want to move quickly, while this administration is still there,” said Mike Neville, a former Peters Township councilman and a current candidate for Washington County commissioner.
Neville said he was on council when Peters Township was building its recreation center. He said the township was initially promised $2 million in state funding, but by the time the building was put up, the money was reduced to $750,000 from the state and more than $4 million was financed through a bond.
The state capital budget requires a dollar for dollar match. The California Area School board is looking into ways in which reimbursement can be received for construction through the state Department of Education. Martinak said he has been in contact with the Department of Education.
Martinak said the Department of Education is looking at the possibility of using the proposed wellness center as an example for other school districts in the state. Martinak said he would continue to talk to the Department of Education to determine what restrictions, if any would be placed on public use of the facility if education funds were used toward the construction.
School director John Bayer said the district would like to have a facility the entire community can use.
The committee discussed potential features and programs for the proposed facility. Nearly all 20 of the committee members present felt that a top priority for the center would be a gymnasium with a raised walking track similar to the one at the Peters Township Recreation Center.
Bayer said he would like to see locker rooms on the side of the facility facing the softball field for student use, in addition to men’s and women’s locker rooms for the general public, since the ball field has no locker room facilities.
Other possible features are an aerobic exercise area, multi-use areas, and a swimming pool.
Lou Panza, the president of Monongahela Valley Hospital, noted that while a pool offers many benefits, it also requires a large maintenance budget with increased utility and staffing costs.
“They’re wonderful; people want them; you can do a lot with them, but the cost of maintaining them is expensive,” Panza cautioned.
Martinak said he would like to have preliminary cost estimates and site drawings for the committee’s next meeting on Aug. 16 at Phillipsburg School.