MISSING BLEACHERS ARE REAL PROBLEMS, IT SHOULDN'T TAKE FOUR YEARS TO GET THAT KIND OF WORK DONE

Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: 08/17/2007
Page: 4A
Headline: MISSING BLEACHERS ARE REAL PROBLEMS, IT SHOULDN'T TAKE FOUR YEARS TO GET THAT KIND OF WORK DONE
Byline: NOT AVAILABLE

IN 2003, Kanawha County schools identified decrepit bleachers at some schools as safety hazards and proposed $6 million in corrective action. Voters eventually renewed an excess levy to address that and many other issues.

But here it is, August 2007, with football season weeks away - and six Kanawha County schools still don't have bleachers for their athletic fields.

This affects safety, schedules and revenue.

Schools get revenue from gate fees and concessions. If teams can't play at their own fields and have to play elsewhere, do they lose that revenue?

The delays are disappointing. Yes, the low bidder, Texas-based Steel Stadiums, was slowed because the U.S. Department of Labor found that some of its workers did not have their papers in order.

But that shouldn't have affected the whole construction season. Kanawha County, which has had almost no rain days this summer, has made almost no progress.

It is good news that St. Albans-based Environmental Management Construction will get cracking on the foundations for bleachers at Sissonville, Nitro and Hoover. Surely both companies will be moving heaven and earth to turn this situation around.

But it shouldn't have been allowed to develop in the first place, and the fact that it did will affect the school system's reputation the next time it goes to the well for extra funds.