Track issue circles back to School Board

HARTINGTON — Hartington-Newcastle School Board members pushed back Monday against comments made by Mayor Mark Becker last week about the city’s cost to repair the all-weather track at the Hartington Community Complex.

Becker said during last week’s Hartington City Council meeting he was frustrated the city is paying the full cost of the repairs at the complex. He said the public school district has a larger tax base and should pay more to help keep the complex, and more specifically the track, in good condition.

Hartington-Newcastle Supt. A.J. Johnson told school board members Monday he believed the city had decided to move forward with repairing the foundation under the track and replacing the top surface.

“So I thought, 'okay, that seems to be settled. We can move on and come up with a new plan in five to 10 years,'" Johnson said.

The track was installed in 2004 and has outlived its projected lifespan. The city had considered replacing the track to extend its life another 20 to 25 years, but the cost proved too high. The city instead opted to repair the track at a cost of $152,625.

Councilman Roman Sudbeck said that the bid pays to tear the old rubber o the track and then repair the cracks and smooth out any low spots in the asphalt below it. New rubber will then be laid down and the track will then be painted. The work will begin this fall, but Sudbeck said the company guarantees the track season will not be aected.

The work comes with a five-year guarantee. Sudbeck said he is hoping to squeeze a few more years out of it, though.

Johnson said the district has met with city representatives a couple of times about the track.

“One time, they were asking the school district just to pay the entire cost of replacing the track," he said. "To which I replied, ‘well, it would be unusual for us to repair something we don’t own.’ ' Johnson said another discussion involved the possibility of the school district purchasing the complex, but he said that would bring legal concerns and could cost the district a large amount of money to do properly.

Johnson said he does not believe having the public school own the track would be the best answer for the community. He said Hartington-Newcastle and Cedar Catholic have a long history of working together, and he does not want the track issue to create division between the two schools or within the community.

“I just don’t think that having the public school own the track would be good for the community," he said.

Johnson said the district’s attorney also raised questions about what the school district would receive in return if it put extra money into a city-owned facility.

"Well, what do we get out of it?" Johnson said. "If we're shar ing the facility with Cedar Catholic and we’re working together there, do we get anything dierent out of it than we would get now if we spend that extra money?"

Johnson said anything that gave one school an advantage, such as first chance at scheduling, could become divisive.

“Those are the types of things that could put a divide between the two schools that really isn't there," he said.