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Narragansett schools seek roughly $272,000 from Templeton for softball field and practice facilities
Summary
School officials outlined a plan to finish cleared land at Narragansett with a softball field, irrigation and practice fields, and requested an estimated $271,890; the committee discussed bids, split funding with a neighboring town and confirmed maintenance plans.
Narragansett Regional School District representatives presented an application to the Town of Templeton Community Preservation Committee asking for roughly $271,890 in CPA funds to complete a new softball field and practice-area construction on land adjacent to the existing baseball field.
The speakers said the district has already cleared and partially leveled the site and spent about $111,000–$150,000 to date on early site work. “So far we've expended about a 111,000 to a $150,000 to level, stop, remove the tree, and that money also includes what we're gonna be paying this spring,” a school representative said while outlining the package of irrigation, ball-field construction, overseeding, fencing, backstops and dugouts the project would require.
Why it matters: District officials framed the project as addressing practice and equity issues — bringing a long-awaited girls’ softball field to the district so the team can play at home and reducing the need to bus students to other sites.
Details from the application and the committee discussion - Estimated total construction cost presented to the committee: $271,890 (applicants characterized figures as conservative estimates). The presenters said they intentionally rounded up on many items. - Funding split discussed: as a regional project with Phillipston, an 80/20 split was used as an example; that split would make Templeton’s share about $217,512 and Phillipston’s share about $54,378 if the full $271,890 were approved. - Procurement plan: the irrigation work will be bid as a single package; the field construction will be bid as a separate package (applicants described two bid packages — irrigation and final field construction — and said they will coordinate a general-contractor approach where appropriate). - Maintenance: the school said it has purchased a specialized sports-field mower to maintain playing surfaces and that routine maintenance is budgeted by the district; applicants told the committee they will cover ongoing maintenance and that the mower delivery is expected in May.
Committee next steps and contingencies Committee members asked applicants to coordinate with Phillipston and with state grant officials; applicants said they would pursue other funding avenues and contact the regional town and elected representatives. The committee agreed to include a line on the February warrant to decide whether to put a funding article on the town meeting warrant. The presenters clarified they can phase work so the softball field would be prioritized if funding runs short.
Ending: The committee did not vote on the application at this meeting; it will consider a formal article and a final dollar amount at its February meeting.
