(Riverton, Wyo.) – To increase the longevity of the new turf field at Riverton High School’s Wolverine Stadium, the Riverton School Board approved an annual maintenance contract at its meeting last week. The action came in approving a $47,500 change order for a ten year Warranty and Maintenance Package and painting ghost lines through the letters and logos on the new field.
Superintendent Terry Snyder said the change order was the right thing to do for the future. “This is not a part of our original contract with Hellas Construction, but I highly encourage you to support this,” he advised the board. “The life of this turf field was an 8-10 year projection, and it’s very expensive for the district. We would like to extend that into the 10-12 years time frame,” he said.
With the new contract, Hellas would come in every year and recondition the turf. Snyder said such work would bring up all the debris imbedded in the field, improve safety and also sanitize the field. “We want that to be a factor and be able to inspect the seams and repair them after each year. By having this service it is a bargain for a field of that value,” he said. The entire project of replacing the turf and resurfacing the track and field areas came in just over $900,000. He said the district had been setting aside funding each year to be able to afford replacing the turf.
Snyder said the original budget to replace the field came in with a cost savings of $58,000. “We’ll have to purchase a different machine to work this field, but we want to take care of this. And not just for now. It looks awesome right now. The quality of work is excellent,” he said. Snyder also said the annual maintenance “would vibrate the material placed into the turf, the sand and rubber pellets, loosen them and fluff it back up. It livens it up.”
