Cloquet district awaits final athletic facilities cost

The proposal to update Cloquet's outdoor athletic facilities for nearly $4.6 million remained in flux this week, causing school board members and superintendent Michael Cary to set an April 10 date to formally approve the project.

"We are, in theory, a month away from breaking ground," Cary said. "[Contractors] need lead time to be able to order material and supplies. They were extremely nervous about pushing it to [April 10]. Beyond the 10th, they won't be able to do the project this year. We're getting to that kind of breaking point."

But multiple board members insisted they wanted to "do it right," and worked toward scheduling a meeting April 5-6 to meet with Kraus-Anderson Construction, of Duluth, to address lingering details, including possible cuts to maintain costs.

Cary called the project as originally envisioned the "Bentley version."

"If we bring it down to the Cadillac version, it's still very nice," he said.

Progress hit a snag when Kraus-Anderson, and the project's other contractors, including Cloquet's Boldt, reported costs higher than what the district had hoped for and expected.

"We told them that wasn't going to work," Cary said.

Among the details that pushed costs beyond the original scope were an estimated $200,000 to wire the new scoreboard to the football and soccer field, and $100,000 to add a 20-foot asphalt strip dividing the eight tennis courts. The "viewing area" was something tennis coaches urged during their review of the project.

"It's important to listen to coaches," board member Dave Battaglia said. "I want to do this right, even if it costs us a few extra bucks."

As it is, plans include replacing the current grass football and soccer field with turf and widening the field for soccer, redoing and widening the aging track, relocating and doubling the tennis courts from four to eight, moving the discus and shot put field to the current tennis courts, reconfiguring seating in the bleachers, and adding a new scoreboard.

Last month, Members Cooperative Credit Union agreed to a naming rights deal for the project. MCCU will pay up to $1.55 million for the scoreboard and 20 years of naming rights to the complex.

Cary said Kraus-Anderson was in the process of revising the project in an effort to bring costs down. Instead of concrete surface and gutters behind the end zones of the football and soccer field, the project will feature asphalt surrounded by a turf drainage system.

"Concrete is extremely expensive," Cary said. "Something as simple as that saves price."

Another reconsideration: instead of moving the long jump and triple jump pits to the north end of the field, which would require a retaining wall be built, the pits will be left along the east side toward 22nd Street.

"Leaving it there fits - it works," Cary said. "That gets rid of a $100,000-plus retaining wall."

Cary was charged with arranging to bring Kraus-Anderson officials to a committee of the whole meeting on either April 5-6, prior to the proposed final vote on April 10. Board members wanted to weigh original concepts against alternatives being considered.

"When we're looking at something going out there for the kids for a long time, we've got to make sure we get it right," board member Ken Scarbrough said.

The MCCU sponsorship agreement was a windfall for the district and the community group that started the entire conversation when it proposed raising a million dollars for a new turf field last spring. Other funding will include $2 million in bonds and $1 million in federal ESSER (pandemic relief) funds. The bonds would be paid back with capital facility funds from the state, rather than local tax levies.

School board notes

• Cary noted contract negotiations with unions have arrived, but cautioned contract committee members against visiting salary negotiations until the end of the Minnesota State Legislature session in May. Wildcards related to both new funding and mandated expenses needed to be clearer before talking about district salaries, he said. "It's going to be a weird year," Cary said. "There is some pretty extreme legislation out there that could sway finances either way."

• School nurses have shared concerns with administration about the next school year and families keeping up with state immunization law, Cary said. Families with children entering kindergarten and seventh grade are required to have their children up to date on immunizations, or else file a notarized conscientious objection with the district. State law allows for the district to "exclude" families who don't comply. The district sends reminders to families in spring and summer, and again in the fall. Any actions wouldn't be taken against a family until October. "We want to get back to making sure we're following state law," Cary said, saying it hadn't been a big issue until recently with the fervor over Covid-19 vaccinations. Nursing leadership will address the board about the issue in April, Cary said.

• Dylan Carlson, director of facilities and grounds for Cloquet schools, reported on facility roofs, and how crews are clearing snow drifts that grow to be a concern. Churchill Elementary School and the Garfield district offices both featured drifting concerns, he said. "Once you get to 8 feet, that's the mark you start to worry about the integrity of roofs," Carlson said. "We're addressing anything 6 feet and above."

• A sewer line blockage at Washington Elementary earlier this month caused maintenance crews to open up the line connecting to the city sewer and replace a section. The clog of more than a foot long was so significant not even hydro-jetting could break through, requiring full-scale intervention. Carlson and his crews had to cut a chunk of street large enough to put a vehicle in it, Cary said. Washington students had one eLearning day while the work was going on.