Centralia School District to replace outdated turf at Tiger Stadium over the summer
May 23—The Centralia School Board has approved a contract with FieldTurf to replace the turf at Tiger Stadium this summer.
"We've been saving to do this. The turf is about six years past its expected life," Centralia School District Superintendent Lisa Grant said at a Wednesday, May 22, Centralia School Board meeting, where the board voted to approve the FieldTurf contract.
Continued maintenance work on the field has helped the turf last as long as it has, Grant said, "but we have had to limit community use some, and the football field and the track are used extensively by the community and we want to keep that, and we also want to keep it safe for our students and everyone else."
Some emergency maintenance had to be done on the field for the high school boys soccer to use the facility this spring, according to district Facilities and Maintenance Director Jeremy Amstutz.
"Additional sports cannot use the field until it is replaced without risk of injury and increased liability," Amstutz said in a written proposal to the board.
The district last replaced the turf in 2000, according to Amstutz.
"It has exceeded its life. It's at the point where it needs to be done due to some safety concerns, and it's just that time," Amstutz said Wednesday.
FieldTurf is a Georgia-based artificial turf company that is included on the state of Washington's list of approved contract partners for school track and field projects.
The Centralia School District's contract with FieldTurf is for $927,813.17, an amount the district called "the most economical option" for replacing the turf at Tiger Stadium.
The money for the contract will come out of the district's capital project funds.
The Centralia School District is also working out a possible agreement with the City of Centralia to share some equipment used to upkeep turf, which Grant said would reduce future maintenance costs for both parties.
Once the turf is replaced, Amstutz said the district could possibly rent out use of the facility to other community groups, which would bring in some extra revenue for the district.
"The key issues are that it's a safety issue that we must address and making the facility still available to the public as much as possible," Centralia School Board President Tim Browning said of the proposed contract ahead of the board's vote on Wednesday.
Work on the turf is expected to be completed over the summer.
