Dalton city officials are gathering more information before making a decision on resurfacing the track at Lakeshore Park.
City Administrator Andrew Parker updated members of the City Council on the project Thursday during a meeting of the city Finance Committee. The Finance Committee is composed of council members.
Parker said Dalton Public Schools is interested in using the track for competitions hosted by The Dalton Academy. To make the track suitable for high school competitions the track would need to have a rubber coating on top of the asphalt, which could increase the cost “considerably,” according to Parker.
He said if the city does upgrade the track for competitions the school system will install features nearby that can be used for high school field events such as the long jump.
But Parker said school officials have said that if the track isn’t upgraded for competition The Dalton Academy can use Dalton High School’s track.
Parker said officials are also working to see if the Lakeshore Park track can be made to conform to Georgia High School Association (GHSA) standards for length. Lakeshore has a 450-yard (411-meter) track. GHSA specifications call for a 400-meter track.
City Council members tabled a $212,800 agreement with The Surface Masters of Marietta to resurface the track at their June 5 meeting. That agreement called only for new asphalt for the track.
Parks and Recreation Department Director Caitlin Sharpe said at the council meeting that resurfacing would allow the track to be used for rec department and Georgia Recreation and Parks Association competitions and as a practice track for Dalton high schools but it could not be used for high school meets because it wouldn’t have the needed coating. The council members said they had expected that after the resurfacing the track would be used by The Dalton Academy for meets. They asked Sharpe and Parker to talk to high school officials about how they planned to use the track and if necessary look at supplemental pricing to bring the track up to high school competition standards.
Sharpe warned that people rollerblading on the coated track or walking on it with cleats could damage the coating.
“With the amount of soccer we have over there it could be a great deal of damage,” she said.