Brookville school board approves stadium renovations quote

BROOKVILLE — The Brookville school board approved a quote on the upcoming renovations to the football stadium at its meeting this week.

Superintendent Dr. Erich May reminded the board that the track and the field are both worn out, and the field has caused problems in the past and has became a safety and economic issue, which is why the administration has decided to go with an artificial field. He said multiple athletic and student groups will be positively impacted, and that by installing artificial turf, the district will be in a good position to retain the district track meet, as well as attract other events, such as play-off football games.

“It’s an opportunity to get more kids on the field and an opportunity to get our athletes on a better playing surface,” May said.

He said the administration has been researching different products and lining up quotes with the board’s blessing. They reached out to four companies: Hellas Construction, Keystone Sports Construction, FieldTurf and Shaw. He said they had been able to visit various fields with the various products. He said they used the COSTARS vendor in order to not have to go through a public bidding process.

He said they wanted to have a competitive and thorough process, so they hired ELA Sport consultants to make sure the bidding was accurate for the district’s needs. ELA formulated drawings and specifications for the scope of work on the project, which went out to the four companies. Three of the companies provided the administration with quotes, and the product the administration liked best came back as the lowest quote.

Keystone came in at about $2.6 million, FieldTurf came in at $2.4 million, and Shaw came at $2 million even. May said that not only are there different companies that make turf, but each company has different versions of turf. He said the version that was quoted by Shaw represents their best product: a new technology called Game On, which consists of large pieces of turf printed in different colors stitched together, as opposed to the traditional stitched turf, with every number and line being a different piece stitched together, which can result in uneven heights and seams that can degrade overtime. The product provides an all rubber in-fill, which means it is safer for the players, and it will likely be a longer lasting product when it comes to maintenance.

He said Force Turf solutions, the company they are looking to hire to install the turf, is out of Indiana. The administration likes the idea that they are a company with a great reputation and one that is relatively local. Force Turf Solutions uses ATT to install track, which is the company the district used to install the current track in 2008, and one that the district has a favorable outlook toward. Force Turf also uses Penn Fencing, the company that installed the stadium fence.

“We are talking about replacing turf, track and fence with better products from companies we know and trust. The quote was also hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the next competitor. A $2 million stadium renovation project is an investment in our students, in our school district and an investment in our community. This is exactly the kind of capital project that we have been saving money for. I am just delighted that when I thought I was going to be asking you for a $2.5 million project, and now I am asking you for a $2 million project,” May said.

May said the design is not complete and the administration doesn’t know how much the required permits are going to cost, but noted that those costs would have been tacked on to whatever quote came in.

Herb McConnell said everyone who was involved in looking at the options had been doing some serious research and the most important part is that the board has enough to cover the price of the project without a tax increase.

Dr. Fred Park commended all involved for their dedication in researching the options, as well as actually visiting fields and putting hands on turf.

The board voted unanimously to accept the recommendation to approve COSTARS contractor Force Turf Solutions of Indiana for the renovations of the stadium, including installation of Game On Hybrid 2.0 turf by Shaw Sports Turf, a new track by ATT and a new fence from Penn Fencing. In other business:

• PATHS Scholarship: The district was given a $896.50 donation to help cover the cost of the school’s SWANK movie license for each of the district’s buildings. May said PATHS is also starting a new $500 scholarship this year.

• HVAC project: May said there was a crane outside the building to hoist two rooftop HVAC units on the auditorium and the main gym. He said that the project is still missing some computer chips for the HVAC units, but the administration is optimistic that both main units will be operational the week of Dec. 19.