Central Regional School Board Narrowly Approves $2.3 Million Turf Project

by Patricia A. Miller

Central Regional Board of Ed members voted 5 to 4 recently to award a $2,378,500 contract to a Vincentown firm for a new track and turf football field.

The bid went to American Athletic Courts, school Business Administrator Kevin O'Shea said.

"Our architects and engineers have vetted this contractor and have checked references that they are more than qualified to complete a project of this scope and size," O'Shea said.

Board members Keith Buscio, Jennifer Leicht, Susan Cowdrick, Stephanie Jensen, and Michael Graichen voted yes. Board members Joseph Mielewski, John Hudak, Robert Everett and Tracy Mianulli voted no.

"The board members who voted no were generally against the project due to its cost and scope," O'Shea said.

The project calls for demolishing the existing six-lane track and its foundation, and installing a new eight-lane track with a 10-lane straightaway, he said.

"It also entails installing a new synthetic turf field in place of the current grass field," he said. "The turf field will be able to accommodate football, soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse.

The district's tennis courts will also be resurfaced as part of the project.

The project will be paid for with maintenance reserves and School Choice money, at no cost to taxpayers, Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said.

The district will be able to rent out the turf for additional revenue, he said.

"We will now have night games for middle school and high school teams so parents can see their kids play," Parlapanides said. "We will be able to hold band, Army ROTC competitions, football sectionals, track meets and track sectional championships at Central Regional."

The district will use unexpended funds from the current year, capital reserve monies, Choice Aid money and lease proceeds to fund the project, O'Shea said.

"As some other districts around the state have done, we are lease purchasing the turf portion of the project. The lease will be three to five years in length with an expected interest rate of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent," he said.

The track was last resurfaced between eight to 10 years ago. The foundation under the track is deteriorating, so another resurfacing is not possible, O'Shea said.

"In researching the project, it was determined that if the district were ever going to add a synthetic turf surface, the best time would be when the track were being installed," he said. "This is because of all the storm water management and drainage requirements that come with the track and turf. In this way the district received an economy of scale by doing the two projects at the same time."

Central will join Toms River Regional as the only districts in Ocean County with turf, compared to Monmouth County, where almost all have turf and very few have natural grass, Parlapanides said.