$185,000: Cost of athletic field fix

“Too much water and not enough drainage.”

That’s how Wahkiakum School District Maintenance Supervisor Bob McClintock summarized the problem that has prevented Wahkiakum softball and baseball teams from using the multifield complex constructed several years ago just east of the high school football stadium.

McClintock and others gathered recently at a Wahkiakum School Board meeting to discuss the field and to hear Damon Richardson from Pacific Sports Turf of Tualatin, Oregon present his company’s proposal on installation of a drainage system.

The complex is compacted clay, said McClintock. He explained that he had sanded and aerated the field repeatedly in an effort to create an adequate root zone for grass to grow. He passed out soil plugs to show the shallow depth of the root zone. The three-quarter-inch grass roots tear up very quickly with use, said McClintock.

Richardson explained that standing water, not oversaturated soil, is the problem. He commended McClintock on his efforts to aerate and top dress the fields.

Board member Mike Quigley asked if adding lime or tining sand into the clay would improve the situation.

Richardson suggested soil testing to obtain data on the site’s current aeration and pH. He recounted a project he had worked on, another hard clay field, and concluded that he felt his company had done a disservice by deep tining the soil 10 inches. The field started percolating much more slowly and holding water. He concluded, “Now it’s like a bathtub. Not only do you sink, you lose your shoe.”

Richardson’s proposal is to install a drainage system by trenching the site, installing pipe, refilling the trenches, and renovating the area with aeration, seeding, and top dressing treatments.

The total cost for the entire complex is $185,255, not including sand. This includes installation of 30,400 linear feet of drainage. Richardson recommended two other companies that could supply comperable bids.

“The 800-pound gorilla in the room is, where could we get the money for this?” asked McClintock.

Board member Lee Tischer added in jest, “It might be cheaper to install artificial turf.”

“Or just knock out the fence and use for it football game parking,” noted board member Tony Boyce.

Quigley countered “I’m a true believer that we have to do something. We have a beautiful field and we’ve never been able to use it.”

Youth baseball program representative Todd Wilson reported that his research into grants led him to believe that $30,000 was the approximate upper limit of funding available through similar programs. He explained that the state recreation board that had funded a portion of the original project was not currently doing grants.

The original funding was split three ways between the granting agency, Wahkiakum County, and private donor Tim Abena with each partner contributing $150,000. Abena also contributed much of the labor to complete the project.

Community members have had the perception that the issue could be resolved much more cheaply, said District Superintendent Bob Garrett. Accurate figures will help the discussion, he added.

Garrett reflected that during the last school year the board had decided not to request a bond issue for a major remodel of the high school and thus will need to complete many deferred maintenance projects on the 40-year-old high school building out of the replacement maintenance and operation levy that voters passed last February.

“I can’t imagine that this is a higher priority than reroofing the high school. I cannot recommend we spend $185,000 on this at this time,” said Garrett.

The board concurred.

Richardson concluded, “You have a beautiful complex with lots of potential and one big issue.”