Hinton Residents to Consider School Bond for New Event Center, Football Field and More

HINTON – Hinton Public Schools is asking local residents to approve a bond issue next month that would give the district a new event center, concessions areas, a middle school safe room, and a synthetic turf football field with new, larger bleachers.

The projects will cost $36,970,000 and would increase local property taxes by 4.99%, according to estimates produced by Stephen H. McDonald & Associates. McDonald & Associates vice president Matthew Reichert said that percentage could turn out lower depending on how fast local property values increase.

He made the comments during a community forum on Thursday, March 10, where Superintendent Marcy Derryberry and the Hinton school board gave an overview of the projects and answered questions about the bond.

Perhaps the highlight of the bond is the proposed event center, which would be located between the remodeled football field and the middle school. The event center is split into three portions: a student fieldhouse, a community wellness center and the event center. It would total more than 43,000 square feet.

The fieldhouse would include student training facilities like locker rooms, a weight room, a film room and a training room. Then the community wellness center would adjoin the fieldhouse and event center with a practice gym and walking track.

As its name implies, the community wellness center would be open to the public, officials said.

Finally, the main multipurpose event center would include a gymnasium with more than 1,000 seats, locker rooms, concessions, public restrooms, and a stage on its western end.

The district will keep the Dome gymnasium, officials said, giving it multiple event spaces for athletics, graduations, concerts and other activities.

Hinton athletics director Jarrod Hohmann said the school currently has trouble finding enough practice and game space for all its various teams and clubs. It isn’t always able to host events or tournaments because of scheduling conflicts at the Dome, Hohmann said.

Hinton has one of the region’s most robust girls wrestling programs, as well as a competitive cheerleading team, marching band, boys wrestling and basketball teams to accommodate.

“There’s not many schools that offer the things we offer,” Hohmann said.

At the middle school, the safe room addition in the bond will not only provide emergency shelter but will add two new classrooms to the school. The concessions stand at the baseball/softball fields would also include public restrooms and separate locker rooms for boys and girls – something officials said is much needed and will finally give the Hinton softball team a private place to change.

Finally, the synthetic fieldwould provide easier upkeep for the district. The marching band would finally be able to practice on the field itself, Hohmann said, rather than the parking lot where it cur rently practices due to wearand-tear concerns.

The football field would also be encircled by an eightlane track; the current track is located near the baseball and softball fields and has no adjacent spectator seating.

The Hinton bond vote will be held on Tuesday, April 5. It comes just two months after Hinton voters narrowly rejected a sales-tax increase to fund various infrastructure projects in the town.

To find your polling place, visit the OK Voter Portal at okvoterportal.okelections.us