Dist. 211 OKs turf at 3 more schools

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211's three remaining schools without artificial turf athletic fields are set to get new playing surfaces in August.

The school board Thursday approved bids for three different contractors for work on the fields at Conant, Hoffman Estates and Palatine high schools for $4.8 million. Bill Lloyd voted against the measure, while George Brandt abstained. Susan Kenley-Rupnow was absent.

Superintendent Nancy Robb said district officials learned much after artificial turf work done last year at Fremd and Schaumburg high schools. That work was marred by delays including a mishap in which a construction truck fell through the ground and crushed pipes. Schaumburg had to reschedule homecoming because of the football field wasn't ready.

The board also approved last year's construction bids without including the cost of the drainage systems and had to reapprove expenditures later. Board members were told not to expect any surprises in the form of unexpected costs this time around.

"One of the things that we learned from our last experience is that we wanted people who we felt really had expertise in this area," Robb said.

Henry Brothers will handle work at Palatine for $1.5 million, Cooling Land Concepts will handle Conant for $1.6 million and Chicagoland Paving will do the work at Hoffman Estates for $1.8 million. The work in Hoffman Estates costs more because of the complicated drainage system. The running tracks surrounding the fields also will be redone.

Speedy Gonzalez Landscaping did the work at Schaumburg and Fremd. The company submitted bids, which weren't accepted as they were about twice as much as the winning bids.

The playing surfaces installed this year will be comparable to the previous work, but there are differences. The crews will install a different brand of artificial surface from AstroTurf. Associate Superintendent for Business David Torres said the materials are eco-friendly.