Waitsburg’s Field (House) of Dreams

WAITSBURG - Waits­burg's Field House - the old Whiskey Creek School Building that was moved to the athletic field and repur­posed in 1931 - has been a hot topic of conversation at community forums, school board meetings and Lion's and Booster club meetings in recent months.

"We've known for several decades that the facility is inadequate," said School Board President Ross Ha­mann, who is also a member of the Booster and Lions clubs. The rapidly approach­ing potential loss of $40,000 in donated funds toward a replacement building makes addressing the issue soon a high priority.

In 2011 an anonymous donor gave $40,000, ad­ministered through the Blue Mountain Area Foundation (BMAF), to the commu­nity for the construction of a new field house. The gift came with two stipulations. First, the field house is to be named after Ken Zuger.

"Apparently Ken was a very good football athlete many, many years ago. This individual went to school with him and wanted to honor his athletic achieve­ment," said Hamann.

The second stipulation set a completion date on the project of 2015. If the project was not completed by the end of 2015 the funds were to revert to the estate. Hamann has since sought clarification from the BMAF and has been assured that if funding for the project is secured in 2015; they will still allow the gift, even if the project isn't complete.

"There isn't one adequate aspect of that building right now," said Hamann, refer­ring to the current field house. The structure consists of two bathrooms, in ex­tremely poor condition, and a storage area used mainly for track & field equipment.

"There is one switch to run the electrical for the entire building and it's up so high you have to use a pole to turn the power on," he said. "There are also a lot of issues with plumbing."

According to Hamann, the school district and com­munity groups have been trying to solve the problem for years but keep hitting roadblocks. "The cost of re­placement is high and trying to do so while being consid­erate of the taxpayers creates a perplexing problem," he said.

The field house was slat­ed for replacement in 2000 as part of the High School remodel, but with the con­struction market booming, bids came in higher than anticipated on the rest of the remodel. The District had already passed a bond, but the amount voted in wasn't enough to cover the increased bids. "We had to start eliminating items and the field house was one of the first to go," said Hamann.

"In 2009 a group of com­munity members got to­gether and decided to give it a real go and see what we could bite off and real­istically accomplish at the sports complex," said Ha­mann. "We wanted to draw attention to the needs and we formed a priority list. The field house was a high priority, but it was also the most expensive and riskiest. The press box was about 1/5 the cost and we felt we could pull it off with mostly donated labor."

That group of community members, working through the Booster Club, raised about $7,500 in grants and $15,000 through sponsor­ship type donations as well as funds through additional fundraisers and auctions. It took two years to raise just over $25,000, which cov­ered the cost of materials. All labor for the project was donated.

"We put a lot of pride into our field," said Hamann. "That shows with the press box, the WP on the field and the painted numbers. Opposing teams and visitors are very impressed . . . until they have to use the bath- room. Then they're forced to use horrible, smelly porta potties on the edge of a darkened field. I find it per- sonally embarrassing."

Not only is the bathroom status embarrassing, but it affects football playoffs as well. "We were told our fa- cilities are so bad we won't be allowed to have home playoff games," said Ha- mann. "We're required to have not only adequate bath- room facilities, but also team rooms for each of the teams.

"In terms of use, the cur- rent field house is used on a nearly daily basis in fall and spring. WP has a higher turn- out for track & field than for any other sport. During track season 70 to 80 kids a day will be practicing and using that facility."

Hamann said that even though the $40,000 donation was "such a good head start" once bids were solicited they realized they were over $100,000 short. It is estimated that a new facil- ity with proper bathrooms, storage space and two team rooms, will run approximately $170,000.

"We seem to have the ability to raise $15,000 to $20,000 a year. Once we started doing the math, we realized it was going to take a long time doing things the way we have been, even with a good head start. We've been able to donate labor for many projects but the plumbing required for the bathrooms, raise the cost on this one."

For now, the school board is seeking input from the community, and the Lions club has been asking ques- tions - looking at the possibility of taking the project on.

"Even for them it's pretty big and might be beyond their capabilities," said Ha- mann. "But at least it's on their radar." There is also the possibility of including the cost in a new Field House in a 2015 school bond.