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The old gym without walls during teardown/ Courtesy Robert Smith
School to make way for new multi-purpose building
Miller Grove is taking a big step towards erecting their new multipurpose building-- by tearing down their "old gym" on Monday, March 9.
Miller Grove school board began discussing a new multipurpose building in December 2019. After passing their bond the previous year, the school is looking to spend $2 million in the pursuit of constructing a multi-purpose building, located where the “old gym” is currently located, according to Johnson.
The board is currently choosing between two different layouts for the new multi-purpose building. One has two basketball courts and classrooms, while the other has one basketball court, a stage and an open-air, covered concession area. The proposals measure 125 feet by 165 feet, and with roof insulation will cost around the budgeted amount, according to Johnson.
During a February 18 work session, the Hopkins County Commissioner’s Court voted to allow trusties to complete the work of tearing down the old gym, which began less than a month later on March 9.
For Johnson, this isn’t the end of the process-- rather, the deconstruction of the “old gym” marks the high water point of the project.
“Now that we’re finally seeing something getting done, you bet I’m excited,” Johnson told the News-Telegram. It’s been just under a year since the school passed their bond for the multi-purpose building and Johnson is anxious to see progress, he says. But the school is no stranger to the long haul, according to Johnson.
The construction of the new elementary school, for which the school did not pass a bond but rather paid for in entirety out of the general fund balance, took more than two and a half years to complete. Johnson reminisced about one of the great enemies of school construction: poor weather.
“They did all the dirt work, which is five foot of slick fill… we came back the next day and we had an Olympic swimming pool five foot deep full of water,” he laughed.
Luckily the multi-purpose building is a simpler construction, Johnson says. By the end of the week, Johnson hopes the area will be cleaned up so students can cross back and forth to the cafeteria and water pipes will be capped off, he says. More than anything, the school is hoping for good weather.
“We just got through negotiations and I haven’t even signed the contract,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot left to do and a lot of legalities to go through. It’s a long, drawn-out process and sometimes you just have to cross your fingers.”