Brandon Twp.- Janet Soave sees a bit of a difference between the middle school soccer field and the one she is accustomed to at the Brandon varsity complex.
‘Obviously, the ground is not as smooth as the varsity field,? said Soave, a Brandon High School varsity girls soccer player who plays on the middle school field with the Brandon Hawks U19 Select team. ‘There’s some holes here and there, but we make do.?
To get the middle school field up to par, Brandon’s athletic department has obtained an estimate to see how much it would cost to repair the field.
Brandon High School Athletic Director Larry Lamphere said Davey Sports Turf has given the Brandon district an estimate of $4,362 to repair the field at the middle school.
The U19 Select team is one of the teams affiliated with the Brandon Township Recreation Department which uses the field for practices and/or games. Director Fred Waybrant said the estimate covers fertilization and weed control, top dressing (for surface leveling with seed), and aeration of the field.
How much the school district and township should each pay for the repairs is a matter which has not been resolved yet. Lamphere said he has asked the township to help pay for the cost of the repairs, but Waybrant said the township has not decided if they will help the school district with the expenses, or how much they would help them.
‘They are a primary user of the field on a daily basis,? Lamphere said of the township. ‘We only use it until about 5 p.m. every day. They use it after that and on weekends ? they play on every available green grass (in Brandon Township).?
Lamphere said the financial cutbacks passed by the Brandon school board earlier this year led the athletic department to ask the township recreation department for help. He said the township’s assistance is necessary to maintain a quality playing field.
‘If they don’t do what we’re asking them to do, then it (the repairs) won’t happen,? Lamphere said.