Turning the dirt

Rick Hoover - NewsPress

June 25, 2008 03:28 pm

— The longest journey begins with a step and the biggest project begins with a shovelful of dirt.
Thursday, Stillwater High School’s $21 million stadium project will begin with the ceremonial groundbreaking — people in suits turning over shovelfuls of dirt.
The stadium, part of a $31 million bond package approved by school district voters in October, will be constructed on the former site of the high school track on the northwest side of campus. That is where the groundbreaking will take place at 7:30 p.m.
Prior to that, district administration, city officials and construction teams will meet residents of the neighborhoods near the high school to answer questions about the project. This will be the fourth meeting in a series that began before the election.
“We’re getting ready to see some activity there,” said Kevin Fowler, who lives near the high school and is coordinating the neighborhood meetings. “We want to make sure we have their questions answered before that gets going.”
Previous meetings have involved less than 10 representatives of the neighborhoods who then shared the information with their neighbors. But, Fowler said, 120 invitations have been delivered for Thursday’s meeting.
“We know our core group has done a good job getting the message out,” Fowler said. “We think it might be a good idea to get a larger portion of the folks around the school included.”
In the meetings, the focus has been on six areas: parking, lighting, traffic, sound, trash and drainage. The first four will affect the area when games are played, but trash and drainage were problems before the election and blowing construction refuse was a major source of complaints when the Performing Arts Center was constructed. There are plans for extensive steps to limit the affect of stadium construction — particularly dust and trash — on neighborhoods around the site.
The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the visual presentation room at the high school, 1224 N. Husband. People attending the meeting should enter the north doors of the school.