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Activities director asks board to explore turf options for athletic fields
Summary
Activities Director Mr. Baky asked permission to convene a committee to study turf and field options after noting limited outdoor practice time and potential rental demand; board discussed financing options including grants and sponsorships and flagged time-sensitive IHF B dollars.
Activities Director Mr. Baky asked the board to allow the high-school league committee to explore turf options for the district’s athletic fields, saying recent springs limited outdoor practice opportunities and that turf could increase usability and rental revenue.
"What I'd like to do is get the high school league committee... we'll talk through some things in regard to what that looks like," Mr. Baky said, asking permission to convene stakeholders and study multi-purpose versus sport-specific turf, repair versus replacement and potential funding routes such as grants or sponsorships.
Board members noted the district has limited IHF B dollars and that timing may be sensitive. Discussion covered possible configurations (multi-purpose field, using temporary fences for softball, or separate baseball/softball layouts), maintenance tradeoffs (turf requires less routine field maintenance but higher installation cost) and local demand (Hibbing Community College reportedly seeking fields). Members suggested gathering cost estimates, grant options and usage projections before any commitment.
The board gave Mr. Baky permission to begin exploratory conversations with the high-school league committee and outside stakeholders.
