East Palestine weighs building stadium, track

By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
EAST PALESTINE -- Bulldog fans could have a new "dog house" for East Palestine middle and high school sports teams, and a new community recreation center with three multi-purpose courts and an elevated, indoor track. The price: $9.8 million.
School officials are considering plans to build a new football stadium and track, which would be the new home of the Bulldogs, the team mascot. The stadium and track, with seating for 2,000 fans, would be built on 48 acres the district owns north of the high school. The area would also include ample parking, softball, baseball, and soccer fields, tennis courts, locker rooms and concessions,
East of the high school, where the current football stadium and track now stand, would be the community center.
To discuss proposals
Superintendent Jeff Richardson said the board of education will discuss the proposals at its meeting at 6 p.m. July 2. The board reviewed preliminary plans at a meeting Wednesday.
Richardson said that, with voter approval, the district would borrow the money for the athletic complex, about $4.7 million, through the sale of bonds. The schools could then use permanent improvement money to pay for the recreation center, about $3.3 million.
He said with an interest rate of 11/2 percent, the district is paying back other loans much more quickly than anticipated because more is paid on the loan principal than scheduled. Twenty-three year loans will be repaid in about 12 years, he said.
Richardson said that because of the quick payback, voters could allow the district to borrow more money without increasing the amount of taxes they are now paying to the school district. The payoff time would be longer.