Credit needed for Marshfield athletic facility improvements
By Hub City Times staff
MARSHFIELD – With Marshfield School District officials reaching fundraising goals for new athletic facilities, the Board of Education is now taking steps to start paying contractors for the early stages of the improvements to be made.
The School Board voted 7-0 on Feb. 13 in favor of borrowing up $7 million as a line of credit. Board member Dale Yakaites said the money would bridge the gap between the work that’s getting done now and the fundraising pledges that come in over the next four to five years.
“It’s a matter of having the money available at a certain time and this is a loan – you could call it that – but, it is more of a line of credit where the money is available, but we won’t be paying interest on any of that until some of that is actually needed to pay off bills, should that be the case if the money coming in doesn’t match the money that we actually owe to the contractor. So, it is kind of a buffer.”
The School District announced last month pledges and donations had exceeded what was needed from the public in order for the athletic upgrades to occur. More than 500 donors helped raise the money over the last year and a half.
The project is well underway. The Boson Company started the project with the relocation of the bus transfer lot and student parking, as well as site work for the new stadium, baseball diamond, and softball diamond. The stadium and ball diamonds are slated to be completed in late summer and then work will begin at the middle school.
Donations for the Building on a Tradition of Excellence capital campaign are still being accepted through the Marshfield Area Community Foundation. A groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for mid-April. The Rettler Corporation of Stevens Point has designed more than $11 million worth of athletic facility improvements over the next several years.