California School Board approves new Riley Field sound system

The gates of new Riley Field at California High School.
The gates of new Riley Field at California High School.

The purchase of a new sound system for Riley Field was approved by the California R-I School Board at its regular meeting Wednesday, Oct. 15. There were three bids, two of which included Community speakers, which Superintendent Dwight Sanders said is considered the standard for outdoor speakers.

Following review of the bids, the board approved the bid for installation of a four-speaker system from TG Technologies. The speakers will be mounted on light poles on the home side of the new football field. The speakers will be individually volume-controlled when installation of the system is complete. "This was not a part of the original Bond Issue plan as we thought the sound system at old Riley Field would be adequate," Sanders said when submitting the bids for the new sound system. "This new system will be a significant improvement over what we have." The work is expected to be done Oct. 28-29.

There were many comments about the poor sound quality after the old sound system was installed at the new field. In addition to being hard to understand the announcers, the two speakers mounted on the press box made it difficult for the announcers and broadcasters inside to hear what was going on. Plans are to utilize the old speakers for the baseball / softball field which is planned for future construction.

The board was informed that the E.M. Burger Foundation donated video board should be installed within the next two weeks. The delivery should be within a week.

The new City of California water tower under construction behind the high school will show support of the school with a Pinto crest on it. The crest, along with the words "PINTO STRONG" will be on the new tower and will be visible from the new football field. The other side of the tower, which will be visible from Highway 50, will be emblazoned with "City of California."

According to Sanders, most of the Bond Issue and Guaranteed Performance Contract work has been completed. The exception is the agriculture building. It should be completed by the Oct. 31 deadline.

The district anticipates coming in under budget. With $200,000 remaining after the new construction, updates and improvements, the administrative team has identified a variety of projects that could be completed. Since the board has also discussed projects to be considered, the list needs to be prioritized. Three board members have been selected for a committee to determine the priorities. It may be a couple of months before the actual budget reserve is known.

Guaranteed Performance Contract guarantee is that the district will save $80,000 in utility expense annually. The first full month's electric bill since the energy upgrades were completed has been received. Comparison with the same month over the last three years shows a savings of nearly $7,500. Since a continuation of this rate of savings would amount to an annual savings of $90,000, it appears the work is doing what it was supposed to. The district expects to save even more on the natural gas bill. The savings will be monitored.

The next regular monthly meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 19.