The Victory Field athletic complex renovation project is expected to break ground in early June. 

Officials are also expecting the installation of the new running track and artificial turf field will be completed in early October, allowing Barrington High School sports teams to play home games at the new complex this fall. 

Members of the Barrington School Committee met on Thursday, April 24 and approved the contract with Green Acres Landscaping, a company based in Lakeland, Mass. 

The contract states that the onsite construction will begin June 9. School committee members said the company agreed to wait until the day after the Barrington High School graduation ceremony to begin work — officials want to hold the commencement service on Victory Field.

While the contract shows a completion date of Oct. 2 to Oct. 9, Barrington School Committee Chairman TJ Peck said that student-athletes could begin using the facility even earlier. He said teams could use the complex after the new track surface “cures” which is expected to take place in mid-September. 

Peck said the timing of the construction project would impact the first few weeks of the fall sports season. He said the Barrington High School football team would likely play its first home game on a neutral site, but expected the Eagles would be playing in front of crowds at Victory Field this fall. 

Peck said it was a good result, given that there was a push to keep graduation on Victory Field this spring. 

The Barrington School Department will pay Green Acres Landscaping $4,292,190 for the Victory Field athletic complex renovation, according to the contract. Officials have said money for the project will come from the district’s capital reserve account, which reportedly has a balance of more than $6 million. The capital reserve account is funded through surplus money from the district’s annual operating budgets. 

The contract with Green Acres Landscaping also calls for concrete paving of an access road at an additional cost of $57,190. 

Barrington School Committee member Frazier Bell made the motion to approve the contract. Karen Rasnick seconded the motion, which passed 5-0. 

No PFAS

Green Acres was one of three companies to bid for the project. Yardworks and RICON also bid for the work. 

The consulting firm LeftField provided members of the Barrington School Committee with a recommendation to award the bid to Green Acres, based partially in the company’s “established work history in field replacement, with the design engineer of Victory Field, Nesra Engineering.” Green Acres has completed many projects that are comparable to the Victory Field renovation — in scope, size and cost, stated LeftField.

During the March 13 Barrington School Committee meeting, Peck shared some of the details about the project — he said the bid specifies the use of Pivot synthetic turf, which does not have PFAS and its production process does not include PFAS. PFA is a chemical compound that is often used in the production of plastics and has been found to be dangerous to humans. Peck said Pivot turf offers a 12-year warranty and does not require any infill. 

Peck also said field maintenance was expected to be minimal and could likely be handled by the custodial staff at the high school. He said maintenance would consist of cleaning organic material, such as leaves, off the synthetic turf and could be done with blowers or fans. 

Peck also spoke about the plans for the new running track. He said that at the recommendation of the school’s director of athletics, a higher quality track surface would be used.