By JON HARRISON/Staff Writer

“I hope we can see it finished by the time the trees bloom in spring,” said Pelham City Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Coefield, when asked about the projected timeline for the landscaping project at Pelham High School.

The $310,000 landscaping project focuses on the part of Pelham High Schools campus that borders Bearden Road.

“The piece of land we are working on has been a huge maintenance issue in the past,” said Coefield “The new landscape will alleviate those problems and also provide a great new look to Pelham High School while helping the erosion in the area.”

There has been an issue with storm water erosion in the area in the past. This project will use a sod-covered pipe that redirects the storm water to a detention pond.

The landscaping project will replace most of the grass with self-mulching pine trees, shrubs and other deciduous trees that will bring color to the area in the fall and spring. There will also be a new wall with a Pelham High School sign attached.

Coefield said that aesthetic appearance of any school is important and students and employees should be able to feel proud of the way their school looks.

“When you go to a school you want it to be clean and to be to have a good appearance,” said Coefield. “You don’t want to see tall grass and weeds everywhere. That’s why we wanted this project to happen.”

In an actual timeline Coefield said that he hopes that the project will be done by the school’s spring break this year.

“We want this project to give the high school a good presence,” said Coefield. “We are not trying to build Taj Mahals because we want to be good stewards of the tax payer’s money, but we do aim to keep all of our schools clean looking and well kept.”