Rick Morrison urges fixes to Coakley Middle School athletic fields as project nears completion

Rick Morrison urged the Town of Norwood’s Middle School Building Committee on June 8 to address a set of lingering punch‑list items at the new Coakley Middle School athletic complex, saying the site’s turf and entrance areas remain poorly established as the project moves into closeout.

“I’ve been kind of following along the field aspect … and now that it’s down to punch list time, I just have a few minor concerns,” Morrison said during the public‑comment period, listing bare spots and pronounced irrigation furrows “directly in front of the concession stand serving window” and on the tennis‑court side near the restrooms. He urged more substantial remediation—“dig it up, loosen the soil, and add the loam, and then fertilize and seed it over”—rather than superficial topdressing that he said will fail on compacted subsoils.

Morrison also asked the committee to address several depressed holes where goal posts were previously installed. “They’re filling up with weeds and they fill up with water,” he said, estimating there were “four or six” depressions that need to be dug out, loosened and reseeded. He described tall weeds behind a cluster of storage sheds and recommended scraping and ground‑cover planting to improve the entry view for visitors.

Morrison raised two other practical items. First, the porta‑potty area currently opens onto bare dirt and becomes muddy when wet; he proposed screening or a three‑sided screened enclosure so attendants from the school would not be looking at the units during events. Second, he asked whether an exterior electrical outlet could be fitted to an existing light pole to avoid long extension cords for visiting teams’ plug‑in scoreboards; Morrison said the electrician who inspected the site indicated an exterior plug could be installed at the post’s access panel.

The committee’s Alex responded that the town’s contractor retains responsibility for landscape establishment for the first year under contract and that the landscape subcontractor’s one‑year maintenance period is coming up at the end of June. “Contractually we own the first full year of growing with our landscape subcontractor,” Alex said, and staff will include the flagged areas on the landscape punch list during a site walk‑through.

Morrison also asked about a backstop for the softball field; he said the originally proposed backstop was “something like $90,000” and the large structure was removed from the contractor scope for cost reasons. Morrison said residents could consider a less expensive, locally installed solution after construction is complete; committee members indicated they expect Rec staff or others may pursue that option.

Before leaving, Morrison asked whether a committee member or staffer could join a walkthrough to verify punch‑list items; the chair and staff offered to walk the site after the meeting to record outstanding items for follow‑up. The committee did not take any formal action on the public comment, and later in the meeting staff confirmed landscaping and remaining punch‑list work will be tracked toward acceptance by the landscape architect.

The committee’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Aug. 10, 2026; staff said many remaining final corrections are planned for the summer so the August meeting will include a status update and invoices.