I do not think ADA should be repealled, but the cost-avoidance factor does point to the potential for abuses of ADA; I have heard of an individual in the Birmingham area who conducts drive-bys of parks and public facitlities in the various municipalities to see if they would accomodate her disability (regardless of whether she has any history of using them or intent to use them) then files ADA suits against the respective government entities. Also I remember some Dateline or 20/20 or whatever story years ago about people filing actions against the National Park Service because mountain/forest foot trails in national parks not accomodating wheel chairs. There needs to be a limit somewhere, but I don't see where implementing ADA standards to a brand new stadium would incur a significant amount of the construction cost. I can see where the drainage issues and Title 9 compliance would incur significant cost though.
Thanks to all who voted for the referendum. The passage of the referendum makes this year's budget process much less painful.
I wanted to chime in about the outdoor athletic facilities project at Walton High School.
We are not building a new stadium. The old stadium will be be remodeled to make both the home and visitor's bleachers available to those in wheel chairs. The press box will be expanded primarily to make it wheel chair available. The backs of the stadiums will be covered to allow storage, below the press box offices, dressing rooms for baseball (it is adjacent to the baseball field) will be constructed and there will be some cosmetic improvements such as some brick added. The current concession stand will be expanded to include bathrooms. That concession stand will be used by both football and baseball (middle and high school). The old ticket office and bathrooms will be torn down. We could not modify them because they sit so close to the track that we would have to move the track to make those old bathrooms available to wheel chairs. A small ticket office will be reconstructed. Lastly, the track will have to be fixed to make it available for competition. Currently, they are not supposed to be using it for meets. Lastly, the football field may have to be re-irrigated. That will mean new sod, probably. There are problems with that system that we cannot continue to fix. That is not final yet however.
The current baseball concession stand and bathrooms will be torn down. Again, they will share that facility with the expanded football concession and new bathrooms. The softball field's bathrooms will be made ADA compliant and we will need to build a parking lot out there as part of the drainage improvements.
Most of the new construction costs centers on the press box, believe it or not, because, it must have an elevator to it.
The Title 9 issues will be solved with some additions to the old fieldhouse. And, because of the new construction to the old pressbox, we are losing our vehicle access to the old fieldhouse. We are going to build a new access through the new softball parking lot. That will help with some of the drainage issues as well.
Lastly, we are buidling a small area behind the old high school for a band and soccer practice field.
There are some other small cosmetic additions, such as vegetation screening and fencing in the plan.
Anyway, just wanted to let folks know that we are not building a new stadium, just updating the old one.
The good news is that through a kind private donation, the baseball and softball fields were resodded and irrigated a couple of years ago.
I am hopeful that once the bids go out that the costs will be less than what have previously budgeted.
And, sadly there are some improvements that will need to be made a Freeport and South Walton High that are similar, just not nearly as extensive.
We have put these off for too long. The ADA stuff it getting to the critical stage. Again, if we have to sacrifice this project for another year or two to build any needed classrooms, we will do so. But, it is my opinion that we will not have to do so.
Thanks again guys.
