Only football turf will be bid for West Ridge; access road could be in works

BLOUTVILLE — Sullivan County's new West Ridge High School won't have any chance of artificial turf athletic fields, other than the football field, when it opens in August.However, by August the school could have a new access road going by Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee and built by a public-private partnership involving former county Highway Commissioner Jim Belgeri.In a marathon Thursday work session and regular meeting that combined lasted just shy of four hours and 45 minutes, the Board of Education voted to seek artificial turf bids only on the football fields at the under-construction West Ridge off Exit 63 of Interstate 81 on Lynn Road and for the 1968 field at Sullivan East High School on Weaver Pike near Bristol.Bids also will be taken on replacing the track surface at East, and the East and West Ridge projects will be bid together and individually.The board at the little theater of Sullivan Central High School, which with Sullivan South and North high schools will be merged into West Ridge, also:Voted to consider the possible closure of Blountville Elementary School at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Board Chairman Randall Jones said it might be consolidated with Holston Elementary or co-located at the Holston Elementary building near Tri-Cities Airport.Voted to offer a $15,000 early retirement bonus to eligible teachers who apply by Feb. 15, and voted to increase the substitute teacher pay from $65 a day to $100 a day because of the COVID-19 pandemic, using federal funds. At the Jan. 7 meeting, the board is to hire an employment agency-type company, called ESS and used by Kingsport City Schools, to hire substitutes.Learned from Jones that former board member Jack Bales of Sullivan Gardens died on Wednesday evening.WHAT ARE TURF DETAILS?Cain Rash West Architects President Dineen West and Jason Pollard of CHC Consulting said the projected cost of the East football turf was more than $1.2 million and resurfacing the tracks another $200,000 compared to about $1 million for West Ridge football turf.West recommended, and the board agreed in a 7-0 vote, not doing further design and bidding out the baseball, softball and other athletic fields because the baseball and softball would be about $1.8 million at West Ridge and about $1.2 million at East.Board member Paul Robinson said he hoped the system could do artificial turf for other sports later.WHAT ABOUT THE ROAD ACCESS?The seven-member board also reviewed the proposal on the public- private partnership and decided to move forward with discussions.Belgeri spoke to the board about the public-private partnership in which a group of private companies with an option to buy land near the school and Second Harvest, in the old Sam's Wholesale Club building, would build the road for an estimated $3 million to $5 million, costing the school system between $289,000 and $482,326 a year for 15 years.Jones said the project would be more expensive but more expedited than the normal public bidding process. The private companies have an option expiring next year to buy eight acres of land surrounding the proposed road and would get to sell it for possible residential and/or commercial redevelopment.Jones said the school system or county might be able to charge business owners along the proposed road for access to recoup some costs. Belgeri said the road and right of way would be dedicated to either Sullivan County or Kingsport for maintenance after it was completed.