The damaged turf fields at the Fox and Seckman high school stadiums are expected to be ready to use in September.
Fox C-6 School District Board of Education members voted unanimously on Wednesday, Aug. 8, to hire ATG Sports Industries of Festus to install new fields at the schools. The board met in a special meeting over the Zoom app that was streamed live on the district’s YouTube channel to approve the contract.
ATG will be paid $1,046,537 to replace the turf on the fields. The district’s insurance will cover $1 million of the cost, and the Fox district will pay the remaining $46,537 with money from its capital projects fund, according to board documents.
Superintendent Paul Fregeau said ATG is scheduled to begin work on the fields Tuesday, Aug. 13.
The work is expected to be finished at the Seckman High field by Sept. 6, and at the Fox High field by Sept. 17, school officials reported.
Fregeau thanked the board members for holding the special meeting to allow the work to start next week.
“These few days are huge as far as trying to meet that (Sept. 6) target date (when Seckman High is scheduled to host Fox High for the two schools’ annual football game),” he said. “I appreciate your willingness to take some time away to make sure our kids are taken care of as soon as possible.
The Fox district received bids from three companies to replace the two fields, which were damaged during heavy rainstorms in July that caused flash flooding throughout the area.
ATG submitted the second highest bid to install the 50-ounce turf fields. GeoSurfaces of Bloomsdale submitted the lowest bid at $1,030,000, and Byrnes and Jones Sports Construction of St. Louis submitted the highest bid at $1,183,000, board documents said.
The GeoSurfaces’ bid said the company would complete the projects in 19 days. However, the company was not going to paint emblems on the field, and it didn’t include training for taking care of and repairing the fields.
ATG’s bid detailed how the company would paint the fields, including the school’s emblems, on the playing surface, and it includes training for Fox district staff members on turf maintenance and repair.
Byrnes and Jones said the company would complete the work by Oct. 18, and Fregeau said the company told the district it would provide training for maintaining and repairing the turf.
“Having considered the timeline we are under, the associated costs and the training that is going to be provided, we are recommended the approval of ATG for this turf.” Fregeau told the board.
Fox High’s stadium has been closed since July 14, and Seckman High’s stadium was closed July 15 after the field damage was discovered.
Board documents said the damage impacts more than 30 high school programs and five community programs that use the fields. School officials said the damaged turf fields, which were installed by ATG, are 15 years old, and typically, the fields are replaced after 10 years.
Practice for the fall athletic season and school year are scheduled to begin Monday, Aug. 12.
For more information about the turf replacement, read the Aug. 15 edition of the Leader.