Quick work made of track and field renovations

Sometimes an offer comes along that sounds too good to refuse. Often a sentence like that is the precursor to a letdown as realty fails to meet promise, but such is not the case when it comes to a package deal that Surry County Schools entered into with neighboring counties to maximize the impact of state funding.

When it comes to the multi-million dollar project across three counties to lay down new artificial turf fields and conduct repairs to running tracks, Surry County is sitting pretty as those jobs are reaching their completion well ahead of the school year.

This is more important for tracks whose surfaces need to cure for period of weeks before they are ready for use than turf fields that, at least at North Surry High, look like they are ready for a game at any time.

Last year’s state budget held $3.75 million for athletic field improvements at Surry County Schools, but in February the Surry County Board of Education heard a proposal to maximize the power of state funding by combining the work on new artificial turf fields and track repairs with Yadkin and Wilkes counties.

The board was presented with figures that showed replacing grass fields for turf and the varying track repairs would cost almost 20% less than what the same company quoted for the same projects just two years ago.

They agreed in a 3-2 vote to approve the proposal after receiving assurances that work would be completed at all campuses well ahead of the new school year and football season.

Surry Central, East Surry, and North Surry high schools will all get new turf fields as will the two high schools in Yadkin County and four in Wilkes County.

GeoServices won the contract for the work on the nine high school campuses across three counties and told the board of education that they would approach the projects in a rotating fashion. They referred to it as a “conveyor-belt” method where when step one is completed at a school, that team moved to the next school to do the same step there and another team came in for step two.

In February, Surry County Board of Education Chair Dale Badgett said a chance to consolidate projects on this scale, and save money in the process, may not come along again. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity... In my opinion we’re not going to get that opportunity again for that price.”