Humboldt facility popular

By BOB JOHNSON
Register City Editor

 

Sandy Mintz uses an elevated walking track in Humboldt’s new Community Field House.

HUMBOLDT — Students in Humboldt schools were dismissed at 1:30 Friday afternoon, which gave Sandy Mintz, a secretary in the high school office, a little time to do one of her favorite things. She walked across a parking lot, trotted indoors and took a few laps around an elevated walking track in the Community Field House that won’t be a year old for another four and a half months.
Mintz figured she’d do that, catch up on a few chores in the office and then walk to City Hall, about three blocks away, and meet up with husband Craig, completing his first week as Humboldt’s new code enforcement officer.
Just another day in paradise.
That Sandy Mintz takes advantage of exercise opportunities in the field house, designed specifically to meet needs of secondary school students as well as all in the community, is far from unique. She is one of 515 who have magnetic cards that trigger a door lock on the field house.
“It’s used a lot,” Mintz said. “The track usually has someone — often several people — on it at any time of the day or evening.”
Walkers come in all ages, Lori Buchholz, an assistant in Superintendent of Schools Bob Heigele’s office, said. “We have a lot of people in their 70s and 80s who are there several times each week.”
In addition to the elevated walking track — 11 laps equal a mile — there are state-of-the-art treadmills, exercise bicycles and elliptical machines. For the serious exerciser and those who want resistance training — regular use is considered good for preventing osteoporosis — they can find that in the high school weight room, connected to the field house by a corridor.
Buchholz noted that the field house’s amenities were available 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. The high school weight room is open to community members — anyone with a card, including as many as 50 from out of district — 4 to 9 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
“I never talk to anyone now who isn’t delighted that we have the field house,” Mintz said.
The issue had some opposition when voters trekked to polls on Nov. 8, 2005 for the district-wide referendum. Voters gave it a 617-420 thumbs up. When many of those who were concerned about the added tax burden saw what became available, their tune changed, Mintz said. Were the vote today, it probably would not be nearly as close a contest, she opined.
The total bond issue was $5.9 million, with state aid paying 35 percent, or a touch over $2 million. That left the local share at $3.835 million, and an average ad valorem tax levy of 15.22 mills.
The district enlisted the community in discussions leading to the decision to build the field house and made it clear from the start that it would be a community facility, which, use has shown, is much the case.
Buchholz said a computer program is attached to the access system to record numbers of times the walking track and exercise equipment are used, but it has not yet been attached to the superintendent’s office, making it a tad difficult to give exact numbers..
“I know it’s busy, though, and hardly a day goes by without someone coming in for a card,” which requires a one-time fee of $5, she said.
The field house also is very much a school facility.
From the time classes take up in the morning until the last one is dismissed in the afternoon, students use the gymnasium, a large and upscale competition venue, for physical education classes.
The field house also has made it possible for the district to schedule more events — basketball and volleyball — and a class 2A substate tournament soon will be held in Humboldt because of the field house. That gives local teams advantage. The boys basketball team is just once-beaten this season and being able to play in familiar surroundings will enhance its chances of advancing.