DUBOIS – The debate over the DuBois Area School District’s potential plans to build a new ball field or fields at Wasson Elementary continued at the Wednesday night school board meeting.
The school board stressed that the previously revealed plans were just plans. There is no current push to actively vote in support of the ball fields. While the Wasson fields made no progress towards becoming reality the Showers’ Field alternative has been all but ruled out of the picture.
Terry Noble returned to plead the case that the school board should invest in Showers’ Field instead of building two new fields. Noble had approached the DuBois City Council previously and the DuBois Area School Board back in June and at the October 6 meeting.
In the October meeting Noble was the last to speak in the allowed public comment period and was cut off at the two minute time limit all speakers were limited to. After complaints after that meeting and one at the start of this meeting about rudeness to Noble, he was given 11 minutes for comment opposed to the continued two minute standard.
“I would encourage each of the board members to examine the facts as you know them rather than to go along with those you know,” said Noble early in his time at the podium.
Noble pointed out flaws to the planned Wasson fields. While the fields were rotated to avoid an active gas well on the Wasson Elementary property, according to Noble there is a capped off well from the 1960s/1970s in that general area that could be unearthed in the excavation for the fields.
“The next point I want to make is at least four times, either by the bond company or the architect, four different times stimulus money was mentioned,” said Noble.
“You are interested in attracting government money when you have a city government willing to partner with you,” said Noble.
This was an argument the school board had heard from Noble in the past. This time the school board had a counter for him.
“We have a letter from the city and a letter from the DuBois Rockets stating you don’t represent them. You only represent yourself,” said Thomas Repine, School Board President.
When Noble visited the city council in May the council had voted unanimously in general support of the idea of improving Showers’ Field. Noble had been using this as a sign of support for his efforts. He had also invoked the legacy of the DuBois Rockets using Showers’ Field in his pitches to the local governments.
“I ask if two members of this board and two members of the council would only work together,” said Noble.
“Mr. Noble, we have worked with the city,” said Repine. “We have been working with the city for several years.”
Repine told both Noble and the public present that as recently as Friday the City of DuBois and the DuBois Area Schoolboard had been working together on the possibility of using Showers’ Field. There are three plans for reconstructing Showers’ Field on varying scales ranging from two fields that requires the purchase and demolition of several properties and buildings to one modest field. Even the smallest viable field that the school district can use according to regulations require the purchase and demolition of an apartment building.
Repine and the DuBois City Mayor John Suplizio contacted the owner of this apartment building as Showers’ Field is city property. It would be the City of DuBois that would officially have to aquire the property. According to Repine the property owner had told the two that she was not willing to sell.
To Repine this left one option left for Showers’ Field usable field for the district. The City of DuBois would have to claim eminent domain and then condemn the apartment building so Showers’ Field could be expanded. Repine restated his opinion given in past meetings that he was not going to be responsible for condemning a currently occupied apartment building to expand a ball field.
Noble gave the school board a third possible option to acquire the property based on what, according to him, the DuBois Regional Medical Center has done if they knew they were going to expand in the future, just not immediately. Similar in principle as the school board hasn’t decided exactly when these field renovations or construction would take place.
The concept is that of a life estate. The school would buy the property and allow the owner and renter to remain in the apartment till they die. Once they die the apartment building can be demolished for Showers’ Field.
“This is a situation that can really work for you as this owner is an elderly person, as is the renter,” said Noble.
“I would recommend you do the most economically feasible plan available,” said Noble ending his comment.
At the meeting it was brought up that the cross country team has their track at Wasson Elementary. This new field or fields would also benefit the cross country team if built there. The cross country team has no locker rooms or restrooms for the meets held there. The planned fields would bring to this area locker rooms and restrooms.
According to student representative Michael Raijeki, member of the DuBois Cross Country Team, told the public that at one event they had two portable toilets to share between one hundred runners.
Sandy Township has also approached the district about multipurposing the cross country track into a nature walkway.
Repine restated the main motivational factor for putting the fields at Wasson Elementary if the board votes to approve construction. Wasson Elementary is the only piece of land owned by the school district large enough to have regulation baseball fields. While the district’s schools are primarily based in DuBois the field do not have to be in either the City of DuBois or Sandy Township. Just within the school district that includes more municipalities than the city or the township.
Under the current conditions Wasson Elementary is to the school board not the most economical option, but the only option where the school district would be investing money into a field they own.
“If we had the land sitting in Reynoldsville I’d build it there,” said Repine. “If we had the land at Showers’ Field to turn it into the fantastic field planned I’d be the first on it.”
