Trojan field gets a makeover

Tradition will mix with modern technology on the new athletic field at Petaluma High School.

Work began on the renovation of Steve Ellison Field this week, just a week after the Petaluma City Schools District Board awarded the contract for the work to FRC, Inc. as general contractor and Oak Grove Construction for the site work, including instillation of synthetic turf on both the field and track. Both are Petaluma-based companies.

The project will include the new synthetic turf, a new entryway, new snack shack, new ticket booth, new bathrooms and extensive work to bring the site into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The winning bid was $5.9 million. With soft costs such as architecture, additional engineering, electrical and more added in, the total project cost will be around $7 million. The synthetic turf, new track and other improvements to the Casa Grande High School field completed two years ago was around $3.6 million.

Petaluma City School Superintendent Gary Callahan said there were two big reasons for the cost difference.

One is timing. The Casa Grande project was awarded just as the country was coming out of the economic downturn and construction had not yet started to boom. At the same time, the Petaluma district already had the bond money for its project’s construction. By the time the Petaluma project received approval, the construction industry was again flourishing and many other school districts had passed bond measures, increasing the competition for capital improvement projects.

In addition, the projects are not the same. “They are two very different projects,” Callahan pointed out. Petaluma not only has a much more constricted area than Casa Grande, but the field is also elevated, creating even more work to meet ADA requirements than that needed to bring the grandstands into compliance.

There is added construction for the new ticket booth, snack shack and bathrooms needed at Petaluma.

On a brighter side, the Petaluma project should move forward more quickly than the Casa project because the district had already decided to use cork infill for the synthetic turf. The decision to switch from rubber crumb to cork infill was last minute on the Casa project, resulting in delays in beginning work.

“We now know that using the cork infill greatly reduces the temperature on the field and eliminates some environmental concerns,” the superintendent said.

Work began almost immediately after the awarding of the contracts with the hope of having it completed by the time track season begins in late March.s

Frank Ruggirello, president of FRC, said there is a lot of work to be done, but it is possible to complete the project by spring if the weather holds.

‘We are starting the project in August, when we should have started in April,” he noted. “It all depends on the weather, and nobody can predict the weather.”

“It’s doable,” said Mark Neumann, project manager for Oak Grove Construction. He said that by using lime to help prepare the soil, it will allow for quicker soil conditioning and drying.

He added that by starting with cork infill, rather than having to switch as happened at Casa Grande will also help with the process. “Everyone knowing right from the start will help,” he said.

However, he also noted that having an existing synthetic track to remove at Petaluma “will make it more challenging for us,” than having a dirt surface to begin with as it was at Casa Grande.

The project will cause some disruption at the school, including the moving of all home football games to Casa Grande.

Petaluma High football coach Rick Krist said the Trojans can make do, and that he understands the need for the improvements.

“I’m sad to see the grass go,” he said, “but it was getting to where the grass was not sustainable.”

“Overall, it is going to be really nice. Not only the players, but the community and the neighborhood are going to really enjoy it.

“The architects and the committee did a really good job of making the most of the site. They had to be really creative to get football, lacrosse and soccer on the site along with track and field.”

Krist said that, thanks to the cooperation of Casa Grande, the Trojans have had little disruption to their schedule.

“It’s not ideal, but the schedules for both teams work out well,” he noted. “We only had to move one game to Saturday.” That will be the last regularly schedule game of the season against Elsie Allen that will now be played Oct. 28.

The Trojans have traditionally practiced on the baseball outfield area so the only change will be for scrimmages scheduled for Aug. 18 for the varsity and JVs and Aug. 19 for the freshmen that now will be played at Casa Grande.

Both FRC, Inc. and Oak Grove Construction have strong ties to the community.

FRC has been in the same office on Industrial Avenue since before it became FRC in 2010. It does mostly public works projects, although Ruggirello said about 10 percent of its projects are for private customers. Among its projects were additions to Petaluma City Schools elementary schools.

Ruggirello is a local product who grew up and attended school in Tomales. He remembers playing on the field his company is now replacing when Tomales faced arch-rival St. Vincent.

“It’s fun working on a large project for the school district in my home town,” he said.

Oak Grove Construction went above and beyond with the Casa Grande project. In addition to installing the field and the track, the company provided equipment and expertise to a senior project that installed the James Forni memorial near the school gym.

One of the student leaders in that project, Nic Petri, is working for Oak Grove Construction this summer.

Newmann said the company is pleased to be working on another school project in Petaluma. “We take pride in being a community contractor,” he said.

Other companies involved in the project are architect Quattrocchi Kiwok Architects of Santa Rosa; civil engineer Carlile Macy of Santa Rosa who is also landscape architect; structural engineer ZFA Structural Engineers of Santa Rosa; mechanical engineer Costa Engineers of Napa; electrical engineer O’Mahoney & Myer of San Rafael; and food service designer Bellinger Restaurant Equipment of Santa Rosa.

Meanwhile, the school district has sent plans for repairing and refurbishing Petaluma High’s leaky swimming pool to the State Architect office. Callahan said there is no estimate for the cost of that project until the district hears back from the state office.

The school district is also working on a new field at Cherry Valley School and a renovation to McKinley School that will include a complete makeover to the elementary school’s entrance, exit and parking.