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Bids rejected for Peters Township baseball field turf

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McMURRAY – Upgrades to a well-used Peters Township baseball field have been pushed back a bit.

During their Monday night regular meeting, members of township council voted unanimously to reject the bids received for installation of synthetic turf at Peterswood Park’s Field No. 2.

The lower of two base bids received was $339,900, well above the $225,000 construction cost anticipated by Peters Township Baseball Association, which is partnering with the municipality on the project.

Bid specifications will be revised to bring the cost closer to what the association can accommodate, according to township engineer Mark Zemaitis.

“When you create a field from scratch, you crown it, you put in certain elevations,” he told council, estimating the age of the field at about 50 years. “There’s no defined rhyme or reason to how it was constructed. So we tried to lay it out in a manner that made sense.”

In February, council approved an agreement with the baseball association by which the township would finance the cost of designing a new infield, with the association footing the bill for construction.

“In speaking with the bidders, the three areas where we think the excessive costs arose are: outfield sod installation, the annual replacement of the baseline and batter’s box turf called out in the bidding schedule, and the aggressive time to complete of April 15, 2019,” Zemaitis wrote in a memo to township manager Paul Lauer.

Zemaitis also cited the “lack of a proper layout” as hindering the project.

“Much of the outfield will need to be re-graded to match the elevation of the elevation of the new infield turf. Severe elevation mismatches between the existing dugouts and the need for ADA access further complicate the project,” he wrote in reference to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The Peters Township Baseball Association agreed with the municipal staff’s recommendation to reject the bids that were opened Sept. 17 and revisit the project.

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