Grandstand plan approved

CLINTONVILLE – The roof on the grandstand at Don Jirschele Stadium at W.A. Olen Park will stay, as the Clintonville City Council approved a new plan to save the grandstand and roof.
The council approved the new plan at its Feb. 11 meeting by a vote of 6-2. Ald. Brandon Braden and Ald. Branden Schirpke voted no. Ald. Kody Zempel and Ald. Aimee Ebert were absent from the meeting.
The new plan involves using a helical pier foundation to secure the I-beams for the grandstand roof. A helical pier looks like a long ice auger that is drilled into the earth. At the top of the auger (pier) is a bracket that mounts onto the base of the structure it is to support. They are also known as anchors or screwpiles. The council approved a bid from RJM Construction LLC of Black Creek for $71,464, with the cost of the new plan not to exceed $72,000 for the project. Of that amount, $20,774 will come from capital contingency funds.

Finance Committee
At the Feb. 10 Clintonville Finance Committee meeting, Clintonville City Administrator Caz Muske recapped the current situation with the grandstand. She said that at the end of 2024, the city was waiting for soil borings to be completed in order to examine the soil conditions at the site. This was necessary because contractors indicated to the city that they would not bid on the project until soil samples were analyzed. This was after the original contractor abandoned the project because of a high water table in the area.

Justin Mc Auly, Public Works Director for the city of Clintonville, told the committee that only one contractor submitted a bid to the city when it rebid the project out after the soil testing took place. That bid was submitted by RJM Construction in the amount of $71,464. RJM Construction is a different contractor than the one the city had originally hired to complete the project.
The bid submitted by RJM Construction involved using a helical pier foundation. One alternate bid was also submitted by RJM Construction. This alternate bid was for $101,085, and would have involved a footing and column replacement.
Mc Auly said the alternate bid would have included a continuous concrete footing, which the council had discussed in the past. The I-beams would have been secured in the concrete footing.
Based on the two bids submitted by RJM Construction, Mc Auly said it was the recommendation to go with the helical pier option.
They feel it’s going to be more stable because you’re actually anchoring into good, solid ground underneath,” said Mc Auly.
Mc Auly added that the continuous concrete footing option would have been around five feet deep in the ground, and it could shift over time and cause cracking in the concrete.
The I-beams that the city had originally purchased for the project will be used with the helical pier option.
Committee Chairman Brandon Braden asked if the bid amount was within the project’s budget.
Mc Auly said the project would be overbudget.
Muske said she recently met with officials from the Clintonville School District, which uses the field for its boys’ baseball games in the spring.
“There is openness, interest in potentially partnering,” said Muske.
Muske added that city officials have not spoken with the Clintonville Athletic Club, which uses the field in the summer for BABA games.
“There could be a scenario where we partner together, we just don’t know what that looks like yet,” Muske said.
Committee member Greg Rose said the project needs to be completed. “Expensive, yes, but necessary,” he said.
After the committee recommended the city council approve the bid for $71,464, Braden asked that Muske research to see if any upcoming city projects could be cut or postponed so the funds for the grandstand project would not have to come from emergency funds.
“Can we try to identify some areas where we might be able to cut as well, so we’re not spending emergency funds for something that is very much interested, it doesn’t feel like a true emergency,” said Braden.

Council discussion
At the Feb. 11 council meeting, Muske said that she feels the city will have some contingency funds that will be available through the city’s capital borrowing, so the city wouldn’t need to use emergency funds for the project.
“We had moved some projects around and we feel that we have some savings that we can put towards this project,” said Muske.
McAuly said the contractor feels the project could be completed by May 4.

“It all depends on how much frost is down there,” he said. “So, they’re really not going to know until they start going down there and digging.”
Muske said baseball games can be played on the diamond prior to the project being completed, but seating will be limited.
Braden said that he is not in favor of approving the funds for the project.
“For my perspective, $116,000 is a lot of money for shade and seating,” Braden said. “I feel that there has to be a cheaper option that could provide seating and shade.”
Ald. Greg Rose acknowledged that the project is expensive, but that it needs to be completed.
“We’ll buy a $50,000 pick-up truck that residents are not going to see, touch, or use,” said Rose. “But this is a tangible item that is used by our residents, our taxpayers.”
Prior to the vote Ald. Stephanie Bonikowske told the council that it is important for this project to be completed because the baseball field brings a lot of tourism into the city.

Project finances
Prior to the discussion at the council meeting, Muske shared with the council a breakdown of how much money the city had already spent on this project, and the amount still needed.
In October, the city spent $32,775 for I-beams to be used for the project. Due to the low water table, that plan was scrapped and the city searched for alternatives to complete the project. The cost of the I-beams, various engineering and construction services, and other miscellaneous expenses amounted to $43,862 that the city had already spent on the grandstand project.

In January of 2024 the council approved moving $30,000 in capital funds for a press box at Don Jirschele Stadium from 2026 to 2024, with those funds to be used for the grandstand project. In May of 2024, the council approved using $66,075 from general emergency funds for the grandstand project. Between those to actions, the council had approved $96,075 for the project.
With the bid of $71,464 from RJM Construction and additional engineering costs of $1,522, that pushed the total cost of the project to $116,849. To cover that amount, an additional $20,774 was approved by the council, with the funds coming from capital contingency.