SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake Central School District Board of Education approved two big steps toward construction of its new multi-sport turf field at the high school on Wednesday.

The board signed agreements with companies to purchase bleachers, lighting and a press box for the field. The contracts for these products cannot be signed yet, because the state Education Department has not finalized its approval of the project, but SLCSD Superintendent Diane Fox said she wanted to get these agreements approved by the board before the holidays, to get the district in the “queue” for bids.

The board approved a letter of intent with E&D Specialty Stands, Inc. for work on the bleachers and press box at $605,039, as well as a purchase agreement with Musco Sports Lighting, LLC for the lighting at $582,855.

Board Chair Mark Farmer said the pricing for these agreements is consistent with what they thought going into the project. It’s hard to say if they got a “Christmas special,” he said, but felt the prices were fair.

He agreed with Fox that it is a good idea to hold their place as soon as possible. The documents from Musco include emails where employees say they often have upstate New York districts confirm their future contracts in December, even before state ED approval, to lock in their price.

“They’re just not items where you go in the warehouse and grab them,” Farmer said on Thursday.

The press box will be built off-site and customized to the school’s needs. The bleachers are more complex than ones at Petrova Elementary, and the manufacturers will need to order a lot of steel. The lighting company, Musco, is possibly the biggest athletic lighting company in the world. They have contracts with most major sporting organizations over the years, including the Olympics.

Farmer said he is grateful Fox is making sure these contracts don’t go on the back burner. They need consistent action to move forward, he said.

The project is currently waiting on final approval from the state Education Department. It’s mostly approved after the district paid extra for a faster third-party review — which is completed — but it still needs the state ED to sign off on it.

The lighting will be dark sky compliant with a small light curtain, board members said, thanks to new technologies. It is designed to light every part of the grid while not spilling out. It should not create “glow” seen from miles away at fields in other towns, and Farmer said the lights should not be blinding to look at.

The light poles themselves will light up, too, and they come with a 25-year warranty.

Fox said their goal is to complete the field in time for next year’s fall sports season.

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How is it being funded?

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In May, local voters approved the spending for this project to convert the current grass field inside the high school track — between the high school building and state Route 3 — to an artificial turf field with lights and a scoreboard.

The artificial turf field proposition was controversial before the vote but was narrowly approved with a 53.59% majority. With 1,478 total votes, 792 voted for the turf and 686 voted against it.

A secondary proposition, to authorize the purchase of bleachers for this field at a maximum cost of $1.25 million, passed by a slightly larger margin — 58.8%, or 862 to 604.

The turf, lights and scoreboard project will not increase local taxes. This project will use $2.8 million of the district’s $3.8 million Capital Reserve Fund — a construction fund for borrowing money — along with $397,563 in additional capital funds.

The lighting agreement approved on Wednesday accounts for around 18% of the almost $3.2 million lights, turf and scoreboard project.

The bleachers and press box project will carry a cost for local taxpayers to not exceed $1.25 million. The district will take out a $1.25 million loan to be paid off over 15 years.

This is estimated to have an $8 per year impact for someone who owns a $200,000 home in the district. Property owners with STAR exemptions would have a $7 impact, and those with senior exemptions would have a $4 impact.

The bleachers and press box agreement approved on Wednesday accounts for around half of this maximum cost. Fox said this is just the metal structure. The rest of the cost will go toward a concrete pad to hold the bleachers and all the electrical wiring needed inside it.

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Next steps

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Next, the school board will need to choose a turf product to purchase. Fox said they’re researching that now and the board will discuss it some time in the future, when one is selected.

In May, before the vote, some residents opposed the turf over concerns of increased injuries and leaching of PFAS, or “forever chemicals.” Meanwhile, others supported the turf, saying these concerns were not convincing, and that it will allow for longer seasons for outdoor practices and games, field use by more teams and reduced maintenance.

School board members have pledged environmental safety. They have options for what turf product they install and said they want it to match the state’s coming ban on PFAS in artificial turf starting in 2026. Ultimately, it’s their decision, and at some point, they’ll take a vote on a bid for the product.

Farmer said they are not seeking any Adirondack Park Agency variances for the project. It should be compliant as it is similar to projects at other schools within the park. Fox said they will need approval from the APA on the project as a whole. Farmer added that the companies they’re working with understand APA compliance because they’ve done work in the park before.

In November, the SLCSD board agreed to transfer the name of Wilson-Raymond field — currently where the Red Storm play football behind Petrova Elementary School — to the new turf field at the high school.

To read more about the field name honoring former SLCSD coaches Ken Wilson and John Raymond, go to tinyurl.com/bewwz4c3.

The new field is expected to support more sports — football, flag football, soccer and lacrosse. The Petrova field will still host modified soccer and football, practices and other sports if the turf field is booked. Right now, there aren’t any plans to rename it.

Farmer is grateful for community support for the project.

“There’s a buzz in the school. Kids are excited. Coaches are excited,” he said.

The district also has a new mascot — “Big Red,” a red tailed hawk with weather elements nodding to the teams’ Red Storm name.