Morning Journal/ Danielle Garner Less Contracting started preparing the athletics field in preparation for new synthetic turf to be installed Thursday.

LEETONIA — Work has started on the Leetonia K-12 stadium turf replacement.

The school board this week accepted a bid of $153,000 from Less Contracting for construction of a drainage base and $327,050 from Astroturf Corp. for construction of the synthetic turf.

Excavation has started. The drainage work is set to begin May 24. The project is on schedule to be completed Aug. 19, one day before the first home football game.

According to information previously released by Dunham, the project is part of the overall sports complex phased improvement plan initiated in 2004. The district has seen a variety of improvement at the stadium since 2004 in terms of bleachers, lighting, press box, locker room, concession stand, etc.

The cost of the project will be included in the district’s current loan payments for the construction of the stadium in 2004. That loan is scheduled to be paid off in April 2025 with semi-annual payments of $62,500, but will be reworked to include the proposed renovation. The new loan will have an interest rate of 3.01 to 3.75 percent with payments of approximately $63,760 to $66,000 semi-annually over 10 years.

The board received six bids for the drainage base and two for the turf.

In other business, the board accepted the resignations effective July 31 of MD instructor Chris McKay, elementary intervention specialist Mary Jo Arditi Stevens and athletic director Bob Beam.

khowell@salemnews.net