The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) committee on Thursday night made good on its recent promise “to drive its own bus” with regard to refurbishing its track and athletic complex.
The facilities subcommittee of the MVRHS committee voted unanimously to begin planning to build a permanent track within three years, a process that would be independent of a planned $100 million–plus renovation or replacement of the current high school complex.
Last fall the committee voted funds that were used to resurface the existing track, which had been unusable. That fix, costing $148,000, is expected to have a three-year life. The decision to dissociate the track project from the overall high school project was based on belief that the high school project would not be underway before the resurfaced track would wear out.
Discussion of the new track project, estimated to cost $3.5 million, also suggested that a nonprofit entity would be established for the fundraising effort, and that the committee would also pursue public-private partnerships to accomplish its fundraising goal.
At its previous meeting, the committee approved a plan to set up a building committee to handle the high school renovation and replacement project, based on a proposed master plan that would spell out goals and specify allowable restrictions to potential donors.
The desire to set out goals and restrictions follows nearly two years of fruitless MVRHS committee talks with two Island grassroot organizations to raise money for the athletic fields. Talks with one organization, the Field Fund, broke down last summer when the fund and the MVRHS committee were unable to resolve differences, including a proposed Field Fund condition that all playing fields be natural grass rather than synthetic surfaces.
In other action, the committee voted to divert $50,000 from an existing $180,000 fund earmarked for high school roof repairs in fiscal year 2019 in order to complete a renovation of the MVRHS greenhouse this spring.
The committee also asked MVRHS grounds and facilities manager Mike Zaus to secure the roof of the former MVTV community cable building for two weeks while the committee decides on permanent use of the building, which is adjacent to the football field. The roof suffered heavy damage during the nor’easter last week. The building currently serves the high school soccer teams as a dressing room.
