Burgess Field Turf Should Be Ready By Fall

Geneva's Board of Education approved a $1.1 million bid from Nicholas & Associates, Inc., of Mt. Prospect, Monday to make long-awaited improvements to Burgess Field.

But while the proposal sailed through with a unanimous 7-0 vote, it picked up some criticism by the TaxFACTS citizens organization along the way.

Interim Facilities Director Scott Ney told the School Board the $1.1 million project includes expanding the track from six lanes to eight lanes, installing a new FieldTurf brand surface, as well as demolition work, asphalt and concrete construction, fencing and rough and fine surface grading.

Work is expected to start May 21, and a "substantial" part of it completed by Aug. 17, in time for the fall sports season.

Offsetting the cost to taxpayers is about $45,000 raised by the Friends of Burgess Field and $500,000 received from an anonymous donor. That donor is not the same person who offered to put up $450,000 toward the project back in April. The new donor came through with a payment on Dec. 28 after the original donor's payment was delayed.

Tom Finnberg, president of the Geneva All-Sports Boosters and one of the founders of Friends of Burgess Field, said after the meeting that he was extremely pleased at the outcome, which he had been working toward for almost two years.

The advantages of artificial turf to the School District and to student athletes are many, Ney told the School Board. 

The School District is spending about $80,000 a year for maintenance of Burgess Field, a natural-grass surface that has lost its crown and has significant drainage issues. The cost of maintaining the artificial turf is about $7,500 a year, Ney said, adding that artificial turn would "pay for itself" within eight to 10 years.

The district had earmarked about $500,000 for the Burgess Field replacement in this year's budget.

"So it will actually be costing less than a grass field and getting much more usage," Ney said.

Burgess Field primarily has been used for football and soccer games. The new surface will make that space available for practices, band practices, gym classes and club sports—and the additional use of Burgess Field supports the board's decision to sell surplus property west of Randall Road that had been purchased for additional athletic fields and practice space.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Geneva TaxFACTS co-founder Bob McQuillan chastised the board and administration for including just a single page of explanation about Burgess Field in its information packet for Monday's meeting.

"I am not against a turf field," he said. "I am against the entire process."

"A mysterious donor appeared. Then disappeared. Then another appeared," he said. "Taxpayers have no idea (of who it might be.) ... Did the donor make requirements the district has to meet?"

McQuillan asked for additional information regarding the type of turf, the safety of the surface and the experience of Nicholas & Associates. He said Mundelein High School was doing a similar artificial turf improvement and paying $826,000. He also accused the School Board of making decisions outside the public meetings and asked the board to explain why Nicholas & Associates already had notice of the Geneva project on its website when the board had yet to take its vote.

"This company, on their website, is already telling everyone they have it," McQuillan said. "We’re getting one sheet of paper. That’s it. Please enlighten us."

School Board President Mark Grosso and other School Board members addressed many of McQuillan's questions prior to the vote.

"Bob, I can assure you, nobody has a contract on this job," board member Bill Wilson said. "It’s not uncommon for a contractor to assume they have a contract once they've submitted a low bid. They will not have a contract until there is a majority vote of this board."

Wilson said McQuillan's quote on the Kiefer work in Mundelein was not comparing apples to apples. "And by state law, if we’re going to do the work, we have to accept the lowest responsible bidder on the job."

The Mundelein High School District 120 project is expected to cost $1.5 million for turf replacement and other elements, according to a Sept. 27 story in the Daily Herald.

Board member Tim Moran noted that the FieldTurf brand is used by many colleges "and is the premier product for football."

Board member Matt Henry said athletes who use play on turf "have a lower concussion rate than on field turf. And I think we can all be grateful for that."

Henry said Burgess Field was being used for about 12 events per semester. "This will allow us to utilize this service and give us all sorts of additional practices," he said. He added that the School District might be able to rent the field to gain revenue for the School District.

School Board President Mark Grosso underlined that the turf field improvements had been discussed in open sessions "for more like 18 to 24 months."

"We have exhaustively looked at options with practice fields on Burgess field, and we felt this would give us a good return on our investment," he said.