Work continues on South Putnam projects

Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 10:19 AM

By Paul Gable

With snow on the ground, one would think the construction upgrades on the South Putnam campus would come to halt, but they would be wrong.

According to superintendent Dr. Corey Smith, the progress of the fieldhouse project continues and has him "happy."

"We are happy with the progress of the fieldhouse project thus far. The weather hit during the holiday shut down, which was beneficial and has not impacted the project," Smith told The Putnam County Post.

The fieldhouse project is part of a $9.8 million renovation project South Putnam is undergoing. The renovations to the football field and track were completed prior to last football season, while work on roofs around the district are also completed.

Smith acknowledged most of the below grade infrastructure is completed on the field house project.

"We are waiting on the final coordination pieces between the steel framing manufacturer and the foundational contractors for the final load analysis before pouring the final concrete pads and erecting the structure. However, we currently remain on schedule for opening this fall. A tremendous amount of work has been completed, but, unfortunately, it is all buried now. Visual progression will be much improved once the steel structures are in place," Smith said.

Despite the weather, Smith said he and the district are "very pleased" with the way the project is progressing.

"The track, field and lighting upgrades were terrific, and the roof projects were complete. Now, the pool updates and fieldhouse are underway. This summer, we will upgrade the Central Elementary parking lot and undertake several other supporting projects. We have some LED lighting upgrades underway, with more to come throughout the district. Several safety updates are planned between now and the next school year. We will very busy over the next eight to 10 months," Smith said.