The Gilmer County Board of Education approved a $1.2 million dollar project that will need to begin soon.
Last Wednesday’s called meeting was to discuss the possible replacement of Gilmer High baseball field’s natural playing surface with artificial turf. The bid was submitted by Advanced Sports Group based in Woodstock.
The project was approved by the board with a 4-0 vote. Michael Parks, Jacob Callihan, Doug Pritchett and Michele Penland all voted in favor of the project. Joe Pflueger, who drove much of the meeting’s discussion, stated he did not receive the meeting’s agenda or the bid package. He abstained from voting.
Maintenance and facilities director Thomas Griffith discussed the project and shared details with those in attendance.
“What the bid includes is everything inside the fence, including new fences as well,” Griffith said. “They will take the fence down and grade down the original field and get down to the base layer and then build it back up. Of course, they’ll put the drainage in and all that and tie it into the existing drainage system. Obviously there will be a lot more water leaving this field than is leaving currently.”
Once completed, the facility will serve both the GHS baseball and softball programs. For baseball, a portable mound will be used that can be removed for softball games. Bases can be adjusted to accommodate softball, which will also use a portable fence and foul poles. A similar dual purpose facility can be found at Pickens High School.
Pflueger voiced concern about discarding the current grass playing surfaces of the baseball and softball fields.
“We spent a lot of money sodding those fields. I hope we’re just not planning on throwing that away,” he said.
Superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley noted the district would check to see the cost of sod removal. By Friday, he said it would cost around $11,000 to remove the 80,000 square feet of sod on the baseball field. He said the price for that amount of new sod is “around three times the price.”
The sod will be used at the county’s schools where they have had difficulties getting grass to grow. Ridley also mentioned the possibility of starting a sod farm near the agriculture facilities at Clear Creek Middle School.
Distributing the sod will be handled by the district’s maintenance department. Some areas might need “ground preparation” but “it won’t be significant,” Ridley said.
“Flat land is at a premium. We’re trying to make sure we’re taking full advantage of every spot of land we have here,” said Ridley “It’s an investment to turf a baseball field. We’re trying to get something nice for the boys and the girls. This combination field will be a great opportunity for baseball and softball to have top-of-the-line facilities that are on par with some of our neighbors.”
Plans are to begin the project Nov. 1 so the field is ready for the start of baseball season in February.
The field conversion will be funded by the 2015 special-purpose local-option sales tax allocated for “renovations and improvements at GHS athletic facilities.”
These funds cannot be reallocated to other projects and must be used at Huff-Mosley Memorial Stadium, the baseball and softball fields, gym or Noah Harris Center.