BOE reviews
construction progress
The Plainview-Old Bethpage Board of Education presented a slideshow update on the new turf field being constructed at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School during a school board meeting last Monday, which was unamiously approved by the Town of Oyster Bay earlier this year.
The project is entirely funded by the Town, and will replace a natural grass surface. According to Assistant Superintendent for Business Ryan Ruf, the district has not been notified of a price for the project, however the Town projects to come in on budget, which was stated back in March to be approximately $2 million dollars. This represents the total cost of the turf field.
Ruf said the district is on a construction timeline that is subject to change, however over the course of the next two weeks, the finalization of the field graining will be done, bringing in the final sub-surface before the actual field goes down. The field will begin to to be delievered the week of Aug. 26.
Ruf said a machine sews the field into place, which is a relatively quick process, and that the district has been closely following the power supply to the field, as the power that currently runs through the field is no longer suitable.
“Other communities have experienced huge delays (in the power supply), sometimes up to six months,” Ruf said. “We’ve reached out LIPA to get a schedule from them.” Ruf said the district anticipates the delay is a result of LIPA’s switchover to PSEG of New Jersey. A law was passed on July 19 making LIPA’s operations to be effectively controlled by PSEG beginning in 2014.
Ruf said that the despite heavy rains over the summer, the construction is “on schedule,” and will probably go over a week or two. A ribbon-cutting ceremony has been planned by the Town for the field’s official opening,
The first evening event, a boys and girls soccer game, is planned for September 19, and Ruf said the district is planning a “big event” the following evening on September 20.
Ruf said that event 5 p.m. start times on Sept. 9 and 10 could be moved up as well.
