CHS softball concession construction starts after delay

It may be common to wait at a concession stand, but Anderson County officials are frustrated with waiting for one at Clinton High School’s softball field.

Ryan Sutton, communications and public relations coordinator for Anderson County Schools, told The Courier News that the school system has signed the contract to build a concession stand for the school’s softball field.

Construction will be done 120 days from a pre-construction meeting Tuesday, Sept. 10.

A now-settled lawsuit slowed construction. Sutton said the settlement did not involve monetary compensation.

He said the school system was waiting for a final adjustment of the field’s lights to complete the approved agreement.

He did not disclose any other details.

“The project’s [taken] way too long, and it should have been already done, but it’s not,” said Anderson County Director of Schools Tim Parrott during the Anderson County Commission’s Aug. 19 meeting, which took place before the contract’s signing.

He spoke of other delaying factors besides the lawsuit.

“The problem is they’re so small, they only have one company that bids on them, and they kind of hold us over a barrel, and they’ve not signed the contract yet,” Parrott said of concession stands and the contractor involved. He said the stand will cost $265,000.

Commissioner Tracy Wandell told Parrott he wanted to guarantee the stand’s construction.

He suggested possibly working with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology or buying an already made unit. However, Parrott said the lawsuit limited what the county could do.

He also said the city of Clinton required the stand to be a commercial building with a commercial license.

“If we could have built it ourselves, we’d already have it done, but we can’t do that,” Parrott said regarding Clinton.

He said however, that the school system can charge the builder a $500 fine per day over the 120-day limit.

Safety Film

Parrott said the school system has put safety film on all the doors and windows at Anderson County schools.

Flu shots

Parrott said the school system plans to offer flu shots to students free of charge this month.