DOWAGIAC — As summer trails on, the Dowagiac Union School District will be in the final months of wrapping up its bond project.

At a working meeting between Superintendent Jonathan Whan and the board of education Monday, Whan detailed updates of the bond project.

He kicked off the meeting by pitching the idea of placing signage on each site to thank the community and reassure them of the progress the district is making. Trustee Terry Groth expressed his support for the idea.

“I think that’s a great idea, especially for the schools that you don’t see a lot going on outside,” Groth said. “I just passed by Sister Lakes Elementary last week, and you can’t really tell much work is going on because it’s all internal. Other than maybe some windows being replaced and a construction trailer outside, you wouldn’t know work was being done.”

Whan addressed questions he had been receiving about the current bond’s progress requested by board members. At a construction meeting hosted two weeks ago, he asked if the district was still hitting every benchmark.

“We are still hitting all these spots and areas to the best of my knowledge as originally proposed,” Whan said. “When you are dealing with a school district that has six buildings, you’re really focusing on five areas, plus the athletic fields. It’s critical that you’re sharing the wealth with all your community.”

Whan was assured by the construction management company that the bond would be finished by the start of school, which he defines as the middle of August, he said.

“I don’t want to walk in on Labor Day carrying boxes and shifting desks like last year,” he said. “I have been told [August] is still their target. They understand we would rather not go through two years in a row of that process.”

The budget is moving ahead, and Stacy Ritchie, the finance director, has been working with the architects, engineers and construction firms, Whan said.

Bi-weekly meetings have been hosted to keep bond updates, but meeting every two weeks does not deal with all issues, Whan said, including the need to replace 13 sinks in classrooms, after the maintenance team found pea traps in slabs of concrete under each sink, which is no longer code, he said. The project would cost around $13,000 for the repair of all the sinks and still fit in the bond budget, Whan told the board.

Whan then provided the board with updates to the Chris Taylor Alumni Field and explained how 14 handicapped parking spots will have to be added, he said. Delays on the construction of the team rooms happened because Lansing delayed making a decision regarding the Senate’s vote saying team rooms do not have be insulated or heated. The House or Representatives did not take action, Whan said.

Lansing did not make a decision in a quick enough time period for the stadium project to be completed, and a change order was made at the end of June, he said.

The board discussed how delays from the state of Michigan played a role in the construction of the team rooms and concession stand not being completed before the first football game of the season.

“Originally, these contractors were supposed to start on April 1,” said John Juroff, the Dowagiac Union Schools maintenance director. “The problem is they sent the state the plans, and the state rejected them. It took until May 12, before we had any approval. Realistically, we could be six weeks unless something goes wrong.”

Whan also plans to add a fundraising component to the stadium. Diamond shapes were detailed in the stadium’s walkway, which represented bricks the school will sell. As the bricks are sold and marked, the school will add names to the walk area, Whan said.

The school board also discussed several design components around the football field, including a new electrical sign, new fencing of black aluminum and possible brick pillars. The new electrical sign was not budgeted for with bond money, but two corporations have donated to pay for the sign and will be recognized on the front, Whan said.

Lastly, he shared thoughts surrounding the ICG building, which the board unanimously agreed was an eyesore.

“Everyone in this room wants that building gone, we’ve talked about it to death,” said Larry Schmidt, the board president. “It can never hurt for a new set of eyes to come on board.  The reality is, there has been a lot of negative talk about that place. I think we should give it one last shot.”

In November 2018, the city of Dowagiac entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the school district for the improvement and use of the ICG property, but in June that agreement expired, said Kevin Anderson, Dowagiac’s city manager.

“Right at the moment, the agreement we previously had would have expired, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t willing to work with the school district on this,” Anderson said. “This has been a long-standing project that we are certainly willing to do what we can do to help make this happen.”

Whan mentioned using the ICG building space as additional parking, which could add 250 parking spots. The parking would not be used solely for football parking, an ADA compliant ramp could address the track, soccer field, softball field and baseball fields, Whan said. The ideas discussed were not dependent upon the school owning the property.

“There is value in taking the building down,” Whan said. “It’s time to give this another shot.”

The board approved giving Whan a chance to do more research.