Pittsboro, NC – During the Monday evening school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Operations, Chris Blice will present for review Chatham Park’s offer to build multi-use sports facilities on the Northwood High School campus.
The Chatham Park Developers have reached out to Chatham County Schools with a proposal for the following projects to be built on the front (currently unused) portion of the Northwood High School campus. This property is located between Northwood School Road and Charger Boulevard, and covers the area from 15-501 to the stream beside the brick gates/soccer field. The proposal includes the following:
Construction of a Miracle Field/Playground Facility in conjunction with the Miracle League/Chatham Park to provide baseball and other physical activity opportunities for handicapped Chatham County school age children. (Here is a link to information about this idea.)Construction of a three field soccer complex in conjunction with Chatham County Parks and Recreation/Chatham Park to provide youth soccer opportunities for Chatham County school-age children. These fields will be available for school use. Construction of needed access roads, parking areas, and facilities to support both the Miracle Field and the soccer complex.Demo of the existing and construction of new Northwood High School signage located at the corner of Northwood School Road and Hwy 15-501. The existing sign was built by the Northwood High School masonry program in the late 1970s and is visually out of place in relation to the new construction going up around it. (Design is to be determined at this point in time but will likely include an electronic screen.)
This proposal is based on Chatham County Schools and the above-mentioned organizations (Chatham Park, The Miracle League, Chatham County Parks and Recreation) collaboratively creating and signing off on joint use agreements which address the construction (including re-routing the existing Cross Country trail), use, maintenance, and upkeep of these facilities on the Northwood High School campus for a specified amount of time. These documents will be presented to the Board after attorney review.
Financial Impact
To be determined at this point in time. However, the starting premise is that these projects would be completed without district funding. This would be addressed in the joint use agreements.
Recommendation
Administration is seeking direction from the Board related to moving forward with these projects.