WESTBROOK – If you drive past Olmstead Field at Westbrook High School on a regular basis, you may notice something missing. If you plan to sit on the visitor bleachers during the next sports event, you’ll definitely notice something missing.
The bleachers on the Stroudwater Street side of the field are being dismantled this week, after a recent inspection brought safety concerns and code violations to light.
“We probably dodged a bullet there,” said School Superintendent Marc Gousse, who said this week that the bleachers were labeled off-limits following the inspection, and removed to prevent anyone from getting hurt.
Jeremy Ray, the school district’s director of operations, said Hussey Seating, of North Berwick, built the bleachers for the newly constructed Westbrook Middle School, and came to the city last month to inspect those bleachers. Ray said he didn’t know when any of the district’s other bleachers had last been inspected, so he asked the Hussey workers to examine them all, including the visitor bleachers at Olmstead Field.
In a one-page report dated Oct. 27, Hussey found the bleachers were not safe. Among other problems, Hussey found the bleachers had gaps between footboards and risers, and unsafe end rails and rear rails. In addition, the company found many of the footboards were not properly supported, and in some places “starting to decay.”
At the district’s request, City Engineer Eric Dudley also examined the visitor bleachers. Dudley said this week that even a cursory examination allowed him to confirm many of Hussey’s findings.
“There were some readily apparent issues that I saw,” he said.
In an email to Ray and Gousse, Dudley, in addition to the Hussey complaints, said he found missing nuts and bolts, electrical outlets “in non-compliance” with current codes, and a lack of accessibility to the disabled, making the bleachers out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“After looking at the bleachers, I am not comfortable with their continued use in their current condition and recommend they be closed off as soon as possible,” Dudley said.
Gousse presented the findings last week to the Westbrook School Committee, which voted 6-0, with member Greg Smith absent, to ensure they were removed by Nov. 30.
Ray said Hussey found other problems with bleachers elsewhere in the district, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with routine maintenance. As to whether the visitor bleachers at Olmstead would be replaced, Gousse and the committee said that remains to be seen, depending on budgetary allowances this year.
There is a good chance, Ray said, that they may not be replaced in the near future, but even if that’s the case, the existing bleachers on the other side of the field can seat more than 1,000 people, which ensures no will one will be forced to stand at games and meets.
“We certainly have quite a bit of seating at that stadium,” he said.
On Wednesday, students at the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center were clearing away the metal skeleton of the bleachers, using a front-end loader to cart the metal away.
“It’s a great lesson for them,” said Steve Doucette, a heavy equipment instructor at the center. “It’s a perfect little project for my students.”
Gousse said this week that having vocational students remove the bleachers saved the district money, and ensured that no one would get injured on them.
“In my mind, it was a no-brainer,” he said.
Students at the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center, under
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