By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

PELHAM – Plans to install a wheelchair lift at Pelham High School’s baseball stadium progressed during a Pelham Board of Education meeting March 23.

The board approved the lift’s installation and authorized Pelham City Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Coefield to move ahead with the project by following proper financial procedures and accepting bids.

Coefield said parents and boosters started the project, which will provide all patrons access to the second floor of the facility as required by state regulations.

“This is a project we inherited,” Pelham BOE President Rick Rhoades said, noting the board has taken on capital improvement efforts throughout the Pelham school system. “It was an attachment that the baseball boosters voted on to do.”

Initial plans included a ramp, but those involved with the project determined the ramp would take up too much space.

“Everyone agreed we needed to go back to the chair lift concept,” Coefield said.

The lift will be installed on the back of a building located on top of the dugout near the first base line.

Rhoades said he was unsure when the board would look at the bids.

“We’d love to get it just as soon as possible,” Rhoades said. “It’s a nice little facility, and it definitely enhances things.”

The board also approved a $15,587 bid from Specialty Turf Supply for PHS baseball, softball and large athletic field maintenance during the March 23 meeting.

Maintenance will include turf management – making sure grass grows, stays green and doesn’t have weeds – to ensure the fields will be safe surfaces for students and the public to use.

“I think this is badly needed, especially with regard to the athletic field that is below the football stadium,” Rhoades said. “We’ve installed a sprinkling system, but it’s still not where it needs to be.”

In other business, the board approved a bid for $69,656.50 from Gadsden Music Co. for PHS band instruments, a bid for $92,046.48 for one Type C special needs school bus and a field trip to Atlanta for Riverchase Middle School.