School’s field to be fixed

Drainage problems to be resolved

By: Bill Greenwood
   MONROE — The school board approved an agreement to fix problems with an upgraded synthetic athletic field at the high school.
   The LandTek group has agreed to resolve drainage problems with the field and complete a punch list of smaller fixes, according to school board attorney Bertram Busch. At a meeting on Wednesday, the board accepted the agreement and will pay the group $132,900 for the work. The amount yet to be paid had been $139,262.65 of a $706,200 total, according to the meeting’s agenda.
   "We got an additional $25,000 to $30,000 of value above the contract amount" for the repairs, Mr. Busch said. "We are (also) being forgiven to pay about $7,000 on the contract."
   The agreement was the result of mediation between LandTek and the school board following a dispute over drainage issues in April 2005, when the field was completed. On April 8 of that year, the board sent a seven-day notice stating that it would end its contract with LandTek if it did not fix the drainage problem in addition to a number of smaller issues.
   The board said access stones beneath the field were not to the specifications outlined in the contract and needed to be removed. It also asked LandTek to seed areas where grass was destroyed by the construction and repair other areas disturbed by the work.
   LandTek said there was no drainage problem with the field but later agreed to the proposed fixes during mediation.