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Board debates field maintenance, turf replacement and fees for outside sports users
Summary
The Gateway School District board discussed a $11,009.37 turf repair for batter's boxes and pitching areas and debated charging outside users a share of repair costs; officials said a single outside organization accounted for a large share of outside games.
Board members and operations staff spent the longest portion of the meeting discussing maintenance and cost recovery for Gateway High School's turf fields.
The board approved a Shaw Turf proposal to replace the batter's boxes and pitching areas for $11,009.37. Facilities staff said the high cost reflects the need to order new turf material because existing inventory could not be located. John (operations) said the district's quoted cost initially started higher and was negotiated down.
Staff and board members discussed how heavy outside use has accelerated wear. Operations staff reported that one outside group, AC Baseball/AC Sports, accounted for roughly two-thirds of games on the fields over the reporting period (the staff estimate for that group was about 213 games). Staff said cumulative revenues from field use over two years were "about $48,000" for games and fields, while one quarter recently brought in as much as $80,000 across several outside entities (figures cited by staff during discussion).
Board members and staff discussed policy changes to limit wear and ensure cost recovery. Proposed measures under consideration include charging outside entities a proportional share of repair costs tied to percentage of games played, requiring deposits for large users, adding preventive maintenance requirements, and contracting for a Shaw inspector to perform monthly checks. Facilities staff said AC Sports has been cooperative about payment and adding personnel to manage site care after incidents of unusual damage.
Several board members suggested requiring deposits for large external users and adjusting fees beginning July 1; staff said writing and adopting a revised policy (Policy 707) will take time and may not be in place before some spring usage. Staff noted some repairs (for example, a $500 pitcher's mound component) were already being covered by the largest user.
Ending: The board asked staff to continue negotiations with outside users, write proposed policy updates to Policy 707 for future board consideration, and schedule the Shaw Turf work while seeking options to extend turf life through preventive maintenance and user agreements.
