AUBURN - Though it is currently unclear when the Auburn Enlarged City School District will put before voters a new capital project, its leaders believe one is necessary in the future to maintain its facilities.

During a meeting of the board of education's Long Range Planning Committee Wednesday - the first since December - Superintendent J.D. Pabis said it is premature to determine when a vote on a proposed project would occur, but he added that a crucial step will happen in just a few weeks, when the district's architect Phil Wise of SWBR Architects will come before the committee and review the priorities with associated costs.

It's been a year since the district put its near $15.7 million capital project on hold, after voters first defeated the proposed 2008-09 budget in May. In the months that followed, the Long Range Planning Committee began focusing its attention on what school improvements and upgrades are necessary for day-to-day operations. A long list of improvements was whittled down to items dealing exclusively with infrastructure, from exterior windows and doors to air ventilators and hot water tanks.

The original project last year included money for the installation of artificial turf at Holland Stadium. While the committee decided unanimously last fall that improvement was not currently possible, it added that work must be done to repair the concrete crumbling inside the stadium on the East Middle School campus.

Committee Chair and board Vice President Sam Giangreco reaffirmed that position Wednesday after witnessing recently how badly Holland Stadium is deteriorating. During an athletic event he was watching, a student athlete was straddling one of the stadium's walls and a chunk of concrete came right off, he said. The remaining portion of the wall has sharp edges, and he was concerned for the health and safety of future athletes.

“I saw that happen and I said, 'Oh boy, that's really sharp,'” he said.

He asked Pabis and Business Administrator Marianne O'Connor if there is anything immediately the district can do about it. Pabis said that repairs either have to be included in a capital project, through which the district receives state aid, or separate from a project, which would require the district to pay for the work out of pocket.

“I think what we have to do is do what we can to keep it going for another year until we find out what we're doing with another capital project down the road.”

The committee will meet with Wise tentatively on July 6 to discuss the district's immediate priorities.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net