Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A question has come up over what to do about the aging track at Colfax High School.
While District Superintendent Michael Morgan waits on two more bids regarding repair and resurfacing options, track coach Jason Cooper advocates for a longer-term, more expensive solution.
Morgan solicited bids from track surface companies in February to get an indication of what it might cost to improve the 32-year-old track, starting with crack repair and re-coating all the way up to replacing the track entirely.
Appearing at the school board meeting Monday night, Cooper told board members about support he has lined up from various local businesses and the city of Colfax – Mayor Todd Vanek was also in attendance – to update the track in a most complete manner.
The track has been worked on at various times since its construction, including an $80,000 resurfacing in 2001.
Since then, it has deteriorated from use and general exposure to the elements.
Cooper showed pictures to the board of the current condition of the track, revealing cracks as long as 30 feet, and telling how some lanes are barred from use for high school meets because they are unsafe to run on with track spikes.
Other lanes are in fine shape.
“We all want to get exercise,” said Cooper. “But we all walk in lane one. Lane eight is like it’s brand new.”
Cooper told the board of the pledged support he has garnered through meeting with various business owners in the past few weeks and asking what their commitment might be to building a new track.
He then recommended to the school board that a special meeting be held to discuss the state of the track and how to proceed.
Meanwhile, Morgan has one bid in and is waiting on two more for what he has planned for the past three years as a roughly $130,000 project. That would repair and resurface but not replace the track.
Cooper’s aim is closer to a $320,000 project.
“When we look at all the support that’s there, it’s doable,” said Assistant Coach Todd Kinley, who was also at the meeting with Cooper to talk about the condition of the high school’s weight room.
“The economic piece (regarding the track) is important to the city of Colfax,” said Mayor Vanek. He said the school should be able to host district meets.
“Once we see the commitment of the school… then the city will come on board and see what they can submit, ” Vanek pledged.
School board member David Nails then commented.
“I don’t think there’s a question we need it. It’s just if we can afford it,” he said.
District Business Manager Reece Jenkin was asked where the money might come from for a full-track replacement.
“It would have to come from levy money,” he said.
In a letter to Morgan dated April 30, Renegade Sports Resurfacing, Inc. of Portland laid out the options facing the district.
Beginning with a complete demolition of the existing track and building a new Renegade Black Poly Mat track surface at an estimated $320,000, the options went down from there to an estimated $70,000 option to clean the existing track surface, patch bare asphalt with polyurthane/rubber and grind down high cracked areas and fill cracks with polyurethane/rubber.
The expected lifespan of this option would be one to three years before larger cracks reappear.
As Morgan and the district wait for the final bids on an option in the $130,000 range, once they come in, the board will need to decide if it wants to go ahead with that or potentially table it in favor of Cooper’s aim of replacing the track.
Originally, the intention was to have the track work done this summer, while if a more extensive project happens, it would likely take more time to come together.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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