Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Jefferson County Commission recently helped sweeten the pot for the purchase of a Jumbotron that Somerset wants to purchase and install at the old football field on Water Street.
By a 3-2 vote on Thursday evening, June 17, the county officials agreed to donate $10,000 toward the purchase, leaving $40,000 to go to attain the $300,000 goal.
Jumbotrons, for anyone unfamiliar with the term, are giant video display screens that are typically used at sports stadiums and concert venues to enhance the fan experience. Besides allowing for live action and scores to be flashed on the screen, the boards also allow for the conveyance of advertisement and other information.
Timothy Bryant, with NextEra, addressed the commission on the issue via Zoom. He told the board that in conversations with School Superintendent Eydie Tricquet and Somerset Principal Cory Oliver, the two had advised him that $250,000 had so far been raised for the purchase.
Which amount, he said, consisted of the $100,000 pledged by NextEra and $150,000 that the Jefferson County Charter School Partnership had generated through its sponsorship fundraising campaign, leaving another $50,000 to go.
NextEra’s $100,000 contribution stems from the $3 million that the energy company pledged to the community more than a year ago as part of the agreement by which the county rescinded an ordinance that sought to regulate high power transmission lines.
Bryant told the commission that NextEra had preferred that its contribution go to fund the establishment or enhancement of a computer lab at the high school. But after months of discussions with school officials, he said, the latter had informed him that rather than a computer lab, what the school wanted was a Jumbotron for its audio/visual club.
Somerset and the school board, he said, had proposed no other project. Moreover, he said, on second consideration his company had decided that the scoreboard would fulfill the intent of enhancing computer skills, as it would require coding and other technological knowledge to operate it.
Commissioner J.T. Surles was one of the two nay votes. It was his expressed view that the purchase price was exorbitant, especially given the size of the electronic device.
“I don’t think it’s a Jumbotron,” Surles said, referring to a depiction of the device. “We’re basically getting a $300,000 scoreboard.”
Commissioner Betsy Barfield expressed the opposing viewpoint. Hers, however, was not necessarily a resounding endorsement of the purchase.
“I think we should be part of the mix,” Barfield said. “This is not a big lift for us. I’m not here to justify whether they need something other than a Jumbotron. That’s the responsibility of the school board.”
The few citizens who spoke on the issue likewise expressed a mixed or tepid endorsement of the purchase.
Paul Henry objected to the expenditure of taxpayers’ money for what he considered “a luxury item.”
On the other hand, he encouraged the commission that if it was going to make a donation, to go all out and contribute the full $50,000, lest the entire project fall through because of the fundraising campaign’s inability to close the gap.
“I don’t want to see you throw away money,” Henry said. “But if you’re going to spend it, why not go for the $50,000?”
Joy Frisby likewise expressed mixed feelings. She initially expressed skepticism about the purchase. But as an advocate for the county’s youths, she could see some benefit to the kids from the purchase, she said.
And Richard Connell also expressed supporting the purchase for the sake of the kids.
“We really have nothing nice here for the kids to do,” he said