Commissioners approve funds for Lexington football field and track
On Tuesday, December 14, Davidson County Commissioners voted unanimously on a budget amendment to provide a funding request by Lexington City Schools (LCS) totaling $437,640 to repair and resurface the track ($242,800) and to make storm drainage improvements around the track and football field ($194,840) at Lexington Senior High School’s Philpott Memorial Stadium.
“The facilities committee has grappled with this for quite some time.”
A proposal of a total estimated project of $1,572,290 was presented by Budget & Management Analyst Tim Maness with the recommendation to move forward with repairing drainage issues related to the field and track. This includes a synthetic turf component of $434,250 that will be handled by LCS.
The recommendation was reviewed on December 7 by the facilities committee and moved forward to the commissioners with a recommendation for funding. This included a note that the ’Football Field & Events Area’ funding will be the responsibility of LCS via other funding means (no county commitment/appropriation). If approved, the funds to cover the related expenses will come from FY 2021 over collected Article 46 Sales Tax proceeds that fell to fund balance.
Maness encouraged the commissioners to do “our piece of a bigger project.” He explained, “There are pipes running parallel to the sidelines. What part of that [are] things we were gonna have to do…If we are going to do all this disruption…the agreement was going to do a replacement of the track piece as well.”
The funds will be allocated from Article 46 Sales Tax Funds Collected by Davidson County Government. Proceeds funding the balance will cover the track and storm drainage renovations. Maness said the project would leave a small amount in the pot, and while assisting with the track was “always up for debate,” staff said improvements to replace the rubber surface would be timely due to the work and possible interference with the track area.
Maness added they were unable to move forward with school renovations for Lexington Senior High and Lexington Middle schools at this time. “We will move the renovation of the two buildings through the facilities committee. That is the bigger project. It will take quite some time to work that through the facilities committee.”
“After this… we will hold that as future education projects,” he concluded.
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