
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — Middletown Middle School held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for a new $12 million gym, funded through the Measure H bond approved by voters in 2018.
The 14,000-square-foot gym will feature a basketball/volleyball court striped for pickleball with seating for 500, two locker rooms with coach offices, two classrooms, and a welcoming lobby with restrooms and a ticket booth.
Construction began on Monday, and is estimated to take 14 months to complete.
The project is paid for by the Measure H bond, which aims to replace outdated portables, modernize classrooms, enhance student safety and security, and improve career technical and agricultural facilities.
“The project was delayed from its original timeline while the team was able to get necessary state approvals,” Middletown Unified School District Superintendent Jeff Crane told Lake County News in an email.

At the groundbreaking, speakers acknowledged the long wait.
“This project has been a long time coming. And there was a lot of adversity and hurdles that threatened to kind of kill the project, ” said Ray Green, project manager for Van Pelt, the company that oversees the bond program and the project execution.
“We got through every single hurdle, and to the point today where we're actually starting to push dirt around,” Green added.
Crane called it “very much a team project,” citing the efforts of the district, school board and the community.
“There's the community team that voted on the bond and approved the money that we are using to construct this wonderful facility,” he said.

“The voters voted to tax themselves, essentially,” Green added. “This is going to be a huge asset to the community… centralized gathering spot for the community and the community will probably get great use of it.”
Crane later told Lake County News that the new gym will be available for use by outside organizations for a nominal fee, primarily youth sports leagues, but general public access is limited due to the gym's high demand.
Members of the Middletown Unified Board of Trustees, the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, Crane and Middletown Middle School Principal Erin Dorman attended the groundbreaking and took part in the ceremonial dirt turning in front of the construction site and excavators.

Costs and bond financing
The gym’s construction will cost about $12 million, with additional “soft costs” such as architectural fees, inspectors, project management, and audio and video systems, Green said in an interview after the event.
Arntz Builders, the construction contractor, was the only one of three bidders to come in under budget. “We also happen to like the design that Arntz Builders brought to the table — better than the other two,” Green said.
He also addressed social media criticism that the district is building a $12 million gym while facing budget challenges. Green explained that the project is funded by the Measure H bond, which by law cannot be used to balance the district’s general fund.
“They’re two completely different pots of money, and one cannot be used for the other,” he said.
Green noted that the district also qualifies for state funding to cover part of the two new classrooms.
A consultant is preparing the application, which, once approved, will provide a 50% state match. However, he said it will take at least two years for those funds to be returned to the district, and they must also be used for facilities.
According to the district website, other Measure H projects completed in the past two years include renovations to sixth grade portables at Middletown Middle School; painting and dry rot repairs at Middletown High, Middletown Middle and Coyote Valley Elementary; a new modular building at Minnie Cannon Elementary; replacement of aging portables at Middletown High with a new three-classroom modular; a new fire alarm system and refurbished restrooms at Coyote Valley Elementary; new flooring at several sites; and envelope repairs to the Tallman Gym at Middletown High.
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