Facilities meetings to be held 4/1

ELMA, Wash.—The Elma School District is hosting another facilities meeting on Wednesday, April 1 at 6 p.m. at the Elementary School in the Multipurpose Room after holding two facilities meetings on Wednesday, March 4 and Wednesday, March 18. 

The Elma community discussed costs and priorities at the March 18 meeting. After breaking up into small groups and having discussions, the community found the recurring topics included: the stadium, high school lights and parking lot, work on the roofs, boilers, and elevator, as well as the Elementary playground - paving and drainage. Based on costs, these are the six projects that were deemed to be priorities. At the April 1 meeting, the goal is to continue to have dialogue, so that we can move forward with a concrete, actionable plan. 

At the first meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, Superintendent Chris Nesmith went over some of the current projects: the ADA enhancement at Davis Field, the $1.2 million Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant soccer fields at the Elementary, and the Middle School roof replacement project. Some of the projects the district has considered based on previous community input include but are not limited to: a possible relocation of Davis Field, which currently sits inside a flood plain, or a new covered stands project at the current Davis Field location, which will require significant mitigation from water damage and require significant annual upkeep due to consistent annual rainfall; new lighting for the track at Davis Field; replacing the track surface, which was already nearing the end of its lifespan but is now past the end of its lifespan due to water damage; painting the Middle School gym, which still has the original interior paint from when it was first built; painting and repaving the Elementary playgrounds, which are a daily safety hazard; and more. 

Even having narrowed the field of which projects are our biggest priorities, we still welcome and need community input to decide how best to move forward. For example, some prefer to relocate Davis Field out of the flood plain, while others prefer to leave it where it is and simply build covered stands and pay for water damage mitigation. Please plan to attend this upcoming meeting to make your voice heard!