Bigfork High School gets new coat of paint, drainage system

The sounds of students may be gone, but there's plenty of racket this summer at Bigfork High School as multiple construction projects are under way while the classrooms are empty.

The first project was repainting the exterior of BHS, which wraps up in the next week or so.

"It's a big improvement," said superintendent Russ Kinzer.

The new brown and maroon color scheme closely matches the recently remodeled and expanded elementary and middle schools, giving the campus a more uniform look.

"I think it looks really nice, despite what trustee Mike Roessmann calls an 'Eastern Bloc' building style," Kinzer said.

Work also began last week on an enormous stormwater control system in front of the new elementary school cafeteria above Grand Avenue.

Paid for by a $125,000 state grant, the system consists of enormous plastic culverts buried underground on a bed of gravel that will collect stormwater runoff from around the property and store it so it can drain back into the ground gradually.

An almost identical, but smaller, version of the system was installed under the elementary school playground on the other side of the property during renovation work last fall.

Sue Hanson, the chairperson of the Bigfork Stormwater Committee, told the Eagle two weeks ago that the construction of the new stormwater mitigation equipment at the school was "amazing," and "will help tons."

As Hanson's committee took a hard look at some of Bigfork's biggest problem areas when it came to stormwater runoff, the schools stood out as a particularly bad spot, due to the large paved parking lots, roofs, and other impervious surfaces that shed rainfall. Any decent-sized rainstorm, they found, sent water cascading down Grand Avenue, picking up motor oil or worse before making it either into the Bigfork sewer system — where it takes up valuable capacity in the water treatment plant — or straight into Bigfork Bay.

Sally Janover, who lives just off Grand and has been plagued by stormwater runoff for years, praised the project and the people who have been attentive to the issues that various construction projects have caused.

"When it rains, there's nowhere for the water to go, so it ends up in my yard," Janover said. "Thank heavens Sue Hanson got involved, she's done a wonderful job."

Janover also praised Mark "Duke" Goss of Martel construction, who oversaw construction of the new portion of Marina Cay and helped bring attention to her plight, Kinzer and county commissioner Joe Brenneman.

"Brenneman took responsibility for following through on this thing," she said.

Brenneman was instrumental in helping form the Bigfork committee, which is under the direct auspices of the commissioners.

The final project slated for the school this summer was recently given the green light as grant money appropriated to the state Department of Commerce as part of the federal stimulus package was awarded to Bigfork schools to replace old single paned windows.

Kinzer said about 25 old windows on the north side of the building would be replaced with more energy efficient double-paned models, which should help out on heating bills come winter.

Kinzer also said the main entrance of the school would be altered into a more energy efficient "arctic entry" with two sets of doors to help retain heat during the cold months. The project is being funded by the deferred maintenance grant that is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.