FORKS — After a public meeting and a survey, the community of Forks remains divided on which athletic facility to replace first at Forks High School.
The 45 responses to a survey intended to help the Quillayute Valley School district and Forks City Council make a decision between first building a new 1,000 seat stadium or replacing the playing field with artificial turf were nearly evenly split between both options, Superintendent Diana Reaume said at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
A second public meeting to discuss the stadium and field at Forks High School is scheduled for 6 p.m. this coming Tuesday at the high school, 261 S. Spartan Ave.
Field Turf, a company that manufactures and installs artificial turf fields, will have a representative at the meeting to answer questions about modern artificial turfs for community members, Reaume said.
No decision has been made on whether to move forward on the field replacement now or to focus first on the stadium.
“We want what is best for the community, but mostly what is best for the kids in the community,” said Bill Rohde, board chairman.
The field has an excessively high crown running down the middle, and can become a muddy mess in wet weather, while the stadium grandstand is crumbling, according to district officials.
The community has been divided on which to replace first with the $1 million the school district already has earmarked for athletic facilities.
A third option — a rebuilt natural grass field with a reduced crown — would cost about the same as an artificial turf, and cost more in annual maintenance, Reaume said.
Bill Henderson, district maintenance supervisor, who is in charge of maintaining the playfield and track, said that with the amount of rain Forks gets each year, it would only be a matter of time before a natural grass field breaks down into mud and reduces the amount of time teams can use the field.
Teams do not practice on the field so as to keep damage to a minimum, and some games have been held on practice fields, Henderson said.
When the field was built in 1960, it was designed with a high crown running down the center to encourage rain to run off the playing field.
That crown’s height was reduced during a past renovation of the field, but it is still very high.
The estimate for the replacement of the field, plus resurfacing of the existing track, is $1.25 million.
In 2014, the Quillayute Valley School Board earmarked $1 million in funds for the two projects.
In May, the city of Forks applied for a grant in collaboration with the school district through the state Recreation Conversation Office.
The city was awarded a $250,000 state Youth Athletic Facilities grant to help replace the field, funds that can be used only for field replacement or it must be returned to the state.
Returning the funds would make it difficult for the district and city to apply for future grants, district officials have said.
If the grant is accepted by the city and district, field construction would begin in May 2016 and would be completed before the 2016 football season.
Board members noted that the artificial turf field could be rented out to other North Olympic Peninsula schools, since state football playoff games are awarded to the team who can host their game on artificial turf.
Currently football teams for all high schools in the region must travel out of the area for all playoff games.
Spartan Stadium, built in 1960 by the Forks Lions Club, is located behind the high school.
The stadium is heavily used for football and soccer in the fall, for track and field events in the spring and by the youth baseball league during the summer.
The stadium’s cement base is crumbling, its roof is rusting and flaking, and some of the wooden support beams are rotting, district officials said.
The estimated cost for a basic replacement stadium without concessions or restrooms is $850,000.
The addition of concessions and restrooms would raise that cost to $1.25 million.
City officials can apply next year for a $500,000 grant to help with the stadium, but the district must already have matching funds to qualify.
There is no guarantee the district will be awarded the grant, district officials have said.
District officials have said the current stadium’s restrooms are in poor condition and are used only when the high school is closed and its restrooms are unavailable.
The snack shack inside the school is used during high school games.
District officials have also identified a need for a new scoreboard, which is approaching the end of its useful life.
For more information or to provide assistance, phone Reaume at 360-374-6262.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
