ABOVE: A restroom and storage building by the baseball and softball fields at Fairmont High School. The district plans to build a replacement for this facility over the summer before eventually demolishing it.

FAIRMONT- The end of the school year at Fairmont Area Schools means the beginning of the busiest time of the year for the district’s buildings and grounds department. Department head Tyler Garrison outlined a series of major projects which stand out from the approximately 150 other projects the district will undertake.

The district will construct a new concession stand at the high school softball complex across from the Fairmont Aquatic Park. The new structure will house new bathrooms and a water fountain and function as a ticket booth. The stand will also have an eating area and a large overhang to provide spectators shade and shelter from any inclement weather. The new building is being built by Larson Contracting based out of Lake Mills, Iowa and is expected to be completed ahead of next year’s softball season.

Garrison said the new building is being built out of necessity to replace the softball complex’s existing bathrooms which is nearing the end of its expected lifespan whose structure is rotting due to age. Once the replacement stand is complete the current structure will be demolished.

The high school’s athletic entrances will also be remodeled. A new entrance will be built at the northeast end of the track and football field to accommodate more spectators waiting in line for tickets. Garrison said the current entrance at the field leads to spectators standing in line in the street by the field house and poses a significant safety risk to event attendees.

The steps at the high school’s south spectator entrance are going to be completely replaced with a new staircase which will include a new shade and face the parking lot rather than the horseshoe.

“The concrete is all destroyed and it’s a safety hazard; it’s been deteriorating for the last few years and we’re to the point where it’s very unsafe,” said Garrison.

Once completed the project will transform the southern spectator entrance into the primary spectator entrance for indoor athletic events. The doors on the north end of the building will still be used as an exit.

The district will also be resealing and repainting the high school athletic track in an effort to improve the lifespan of the existing track, filling in cracks in tennis courts and will be replacing the retractable wall in the high school commons with a new one.

At the elementary school the district is going to construct two outdoor seating areas, one at the west side of the building and one at the north side of the building by the playground. These concrete seating areas could be used as outdoor classrooms or social spaces or for seating while students are being picked up or dropped off by parents or buses.

The district will also be draining and replacing 7200 gallons of glycol from the elementary school’s heating loop. The substance is used as a heat exchanger and will be replaced with newer glycol after teams completely flush the system and replace damaged valves.

Last summer the district had a larger number of projects which utilized ESSER funds provided for COVID relief such as installing a new playground at the elementary school and refurbishing the high school’s weight room. This year the ESSER funds will help pay for the new two new editions of the athletic field entrance and the outdoor spaces at the elementary school, while the remaining projects are intended to either replace or extend the lifespan of existing infrastructure.

Outside of these projects custodial staff will be thoroughly cleaning nearly 500,000 square feet; cleaning every piece of furniture and recoating the floors with wax.

Garrison said these projects and the work of the department as a whole are made possible by the hard work of the district’s staff members.

“I just want to thank my staff because they do an amazing job … if I didn’t have my amazing staff our district wouldn’t look the way it does,” said Garrison.