School department, boosters find funds for field upgrades

Date: 10/4/2011

Oct. 3, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW — While the Proposition 2 1/2 override that would have provided the $335,200 to complete the upgrades to the main athletic field at East Longmeadow High School was defeated by the town, the school district has found a way to make certain that the field was open for use on time.

Through creative use of surplus funds and donations from the high school athletics booster club, five of the nine items that would have been funded by the override have since been completed.

Question 2 of the June 28 special election, which proposed the override, failed to pass by a vote of 386 to 362.

“We, as a project management committee, looked at where we were on June 29 and the question was what are the items that are imperative to safely and efficiently open the field for the fall season,” School Superintendent Gordon Smith said.

As a result, the high school and the town’s Recreation Department is able to enjoy a new field surface, lined for football, soccer and field hockey with the Spartan logo, a track complete with a Plexitrac surface and new track and field equipment, all surrounded by a new fence.

The funding for the project came from money in budget items, such as out-of-district tuition and Special Education funds, which were not used during the fiscal year 2011 budget cycle. While normally those unused monies are returned to the town, the project management committee and the school department were able to leverage that money into the athletic facilities.

The four-foot high black vinyl fence, the Plexitrac, equipment and the striping were paid for with these funds with a total price tag of $91,200. The largest expense was the $40,000 fence.

“We felt the protective fence around the field was important not only to prevent absent-minded people walking onto the track during a race, but also to protect our substantial investment,” Smith said.

The striping came at a significant discount to the town, which had considered the option of going with a field with only striping for football.

“Green Acres [the contractor on the project] had already ordered the material, so the manufacturer gave us a substantial discount on that,” Smith said. “It was supposed to be $9,700, but they gave us $4,700 off, given that they had taken a calculated risk in producing the materials with striping for three sports.”

The Plexitrac accelerator was deemed a worthwhile investment largely because of timing as well as its benefits in preventing injury.

“With the Plexitrac, it was something we would have to do right away. You can’t go back and do it later and it also helps with the longevity of the track,” he said. “It is also a safety item because in adding extra cushion, it can reduce the risk of injuries ranging for shin splints to much more serious things like stress fractures.”

The Plexitrac, in addition to the track equipment, could help make East Longmeadow a viable venue for Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference events as well as Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournaments and invitationals.

“We have not hosted a track meet in over 10 years,” Smith said. “If we open a premier track facility, along with having an active and respected track coach in Coach [Michael] Budd, we could be in consideration for those kinds of events.”

The Spartan logo was donated by the boosters.

Two of the most expensive improvements still have yet to be funded — the retrofitting of the athletic lights and the visitor’s bleachers, which are expected to cost roughly a combined $180,000.

As part of the project, the light poles were pushed further back from the field. Gale Associates, which assisted the district in creating a plan and did the site work on the project, said that while the “small ball” sports, such as lacrosse and field hockey, would not be playable at night, sports using a larger ball, such as football or soccer, could still be played.

However, Musco Lighting, which is considered one of the authorities on stadium lighting in the area, according to Smith, did a 72-point light meter test on the field once the lights had been moved and reconnected to power, and found the level of light was well below industry standards for high school stadiums.

Andrew Dyjak, who has worked with East Longmeadow for Musco on this project, told Smith the standard for such a facility is an average of 30-35 footcandles (fc). The average at East Longmeadow’s field was 23.54 fc. One area of the field registered a reading of only seven fc.

“Gale Associates maintains their stance because there is no state regulation regarding lighting, but I think I would be irresponsible at best if I say we can put athletes on a field that is being lit well below industry standards,” Smith said.

In addition to a fund-raising effort being put forth by the boosters, Smith said the district has been looking into other means to fund the lighting upgrades.

“We’ve started to work with Horizon Solutions and have explored projects with National Grid because we thought we might qualify for one of their green energy initiatives,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, it does not appear to qualify as a standalone project.”

He added that Musco and other companies also offer a program in which the district can lease the equipment for three years.

“We’re looking at several different options. We know what needs to happen to improve the lighting, but now it’s a matter for figuring out how we achieve that goal,” Smith said. “The boosters have been terrific, but it’s a large sum of money we need to raise.”

The water cannons for the field have also not been installed, but before the field was laid down, the Department of Public Works installed the PVC piping so when the money is available, the cannons can be simply connected to existing water lines.