Aug 27, 2013 By Terry Kish 2 min read

Upper St. Clair School Board on Aug. 26 voted 7-0 to hire McLean Architects to prepare documents to go out to bid to replace the running track at the high school stadium.

Board members Rebecca Stern and Harry Kunselman were absent from the meeting.

The architectural firm will be paid 7 percent of the construction costs, or approximately $28,000, based on an estimate of $400,000 for the project.

Architect David McLean told the board on Aug. 12 that the existing track was installed in about 1997. He said a feasibility study in 2006 found that the track needed to be replaced.

“It’s been beyond its recommended use point for 5 years,” he said of the track.

McLean said the track is uneven and very hard. He added that it has lost 1/4 of its original resilience.

The project will include milling off the asphalt and resloping the track. The architects also will be taking a look at the drainage system serving the track.

The new design is for a synthetic track with two layers. The first is a binding layer and the second a running surface.

The project includes an expected $35,000 for new fencing. McLean noted the fence at the outer edge of the track is in pretty poor condition. An alternative will be prepared for the bidding documents to make some improvements to the outer fence of the stadium as part of the project.

On Aug 12, McLean said, “we don’t have the ability to completely secure the stadium at this time.”

In addition to athletic activities at the high school, the track is used by community members, especially for walking.

Board member Buffy Hasco commented Aug. 12, “it will be easier on my knees.”

Board member Louis Oliverio on Aug. 26 said he was having doubts about supporting the fencing portion of the project and might rather see the project done in phases to spread out the cost. He said he was supporting the vote to hire the architect to design and prepare documents to go out to bid only because the project could be split into pieces when it came time to award bids.