ASHLAND – Ashland City Schools board of education began a public discussion Wednesday about plans for a proposed new fieldhouse and how that project fits into a broader facilities plan.

Local resident and real estate broker Rob Ward was present at the board’s work session and said he has been working with superintendent Doug Marrah to solicit private donations from community members for a new fieldhouse located on the south side of Community Stadium.

Over $1 million has already been committed toward the project, which is estimated to cost $2.5 to $3 million.

Marrah said he would like to see the fieldhouse completed in fall 2018. The current plan for the fieldhouse, which has not yet been approved and is subject to change, includes three full-size basketball courts that would double as tennis courts and a baseball and softball hitting area. There would also be a 2,600 square-foot weight room, locker rooms, restrooms and a concessions area would all on the ground floor.

A second floor would contain a weight room, classroom and meeting area. There would also be space upstairs for an indoor track, which could be added later at an additional cost of about $500,000. 

The fundraising effort for the fieldhouse began after an individual approached the district with a desire to give a donation for an athletic facility upgrade, according to board members Bryan Lefelhoc and Rick Ewing. The duo sit on the board’s buildings and grounds committee and both expressed support for the fieldhouse plan.

Board vice president Jim Wolfe asked whether any money from the district’s general fund would be going toward the project, and Marrah responded by saying the money remaining after private donations would come from approximately $1.5 million in leftover funds from the district’s construction project that was paid for through the 2012 bond issue. 

Wolfe questioned whether that would be the best use of taxpayer money.

“You would divert money from the high school to this? You’re talking about building a fieldhouse before we have science classrooms and updates to the high school?” Wolfe asked, adding that he was under the impression the fieldhouse would be funded entirely with private donations. 

Marrah said the fieldhouse is just one piece of a facilities plan that is being discussed.

The superintendent and building and grounds committee are also proposing several upgrades to the high school, including a new special event entrance (approximately $1 million), a remodel of and addition to the existing media center ($1.2 million), renovation of the kitchen and cafeteria ($2 million), restroom renovations ($400,000) a fire suppression system ($978,000) and new windows and air conditioning.

The timeline for those upgrades, which may be done in phases, has not been determined but would begin in the summer of 2019, Marrah said.

When Wolfe asked whether potential donors are being told in fundraising conversations that the district will be co-funding the fieldhouse project, Ward said he would rather not answer that question in a public meeting.

“I want to be aware of how you’re representing me, because I wasn’t aware that kind of conversation was going on, and I don’t know that the board ever authorized that kind of conversation,” Wolfe said. “So I find it very disturbing.”

Ward said the fundraisers have made clear that the board has not committed to any funding for the project. 

Wolfe said he would like to see a financial forecast showing the costs of all proposed projects and demonstrating that the district has the money to complete them without going to voters for additional tax dollars.

“I’m not opposed to going to the community and asking for money to finish the high school, but you’re going to really tie my hands behind my back if we have spent millions of dollars on athletic facilities and then turned to the community and say we need money for the high school,” Wolfe said. 

Marrah said he believes the plans are “all doable with the dollars and cents that we have.”

Mike Heimann, a retired district administrator who was elected to the board in November and will take Ewing’s seat in January, said he doesn’t care about the order of the projects.

“I don’t think anyone here is going to say we’re going to put athletics before education science,” he said. “Nobody’s going to say that and we all feel strongly about that.”

Wolfe suggested the board consider rolling out a fundraising effort for one of the academic projects, such as the science classrooms, at the same time as the fieldhouse project is rolled out publicly.

Ewing agreed that he would like to see a consultant hired to begin working on detailed plans for the high school upgrades. 

Ward cautioned that having too many projects going at once could hamper fundraising efforts. 

“In the end, we need to make good decisions based on opportunities and based on our kids and our community,” Lefelhoc said. “We’ve always done that and will continue to do that.”

The board’s next regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, has been moved to Archer Auditorium.