Seymour is moving forward with plans to upgrade the athletic complex at the high school this summer.
The Board of Selectmen last Tuesday approved a contract with Nafis & Young Engineers of Northford, Connecticut for $69,600 worth of design and construction oversight work on the project, which will include the installation of a new artificial turf field.
The project is being paid for with a $1.89 million state grant.
The SHS Athletic Field Committee plans to send out bids this week seeking contractors to complete construction of new bleachers, a new track and the installation of the field, according to Nicole Klarides-Ditria, the Deputy First Selectman who serves as the committee’s chair.
“It’s a lot of hard work finally coming to fruition,” Klarides-Ditria said.
If everything stays on schedule, contractors could break ground at the site in mid-May, Klarides-Ditria said. The Board of Education has agreed to move the high school graduation off the field in June to accommodate the work, she said. With the earlier start, officials hope to have the new field functional for fall sports.
Many students were upset because the longtime tradition will be interrupted this year, according to an article in the New Haven Register.
The graduation, according to info from Seymour Town Hall, will probably be held on he softball field at the high school campus.
The plans call for new bleachers as well as updates to the walkway leading up to the field to bring the field into ADA compliance, Klarides-Ditria said.
Klarides-Ditria said since voters first rejected spending money on a proposed turf field in 2007, the town has struggled to maintain the field.
“It gets so much use,” she said, noting that football, soccer and Pop Warner teams all use the field for practice and games. “The town does a great job, but with the use the field gets, the town can not keep up with it.”
The Board of Selectmen Tuesday also approved appropriating $2 million to use toward the project, of which $1.895 million is reimbursable by the state grant. Miller said he instructed the turf committee to not go a penny over the grant amount. The board approved a little extra to give flexibility in case unexpected costs come up, he said.
Seymour’s town counsel, Richard Buturla, said the contract with Nafis & Young is simple and straightforward.
“I think it’s all-embracing and we should have a good project if they’re supervising it,” Buturla said.
