Purchased dirt will go toward HS fields
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff The North Brunswick Board of Education recently purchased 7,000 cubic yards of dirt left over from the expansion project at the township high school. The soil will be used to construct much-needed athletic fields.

NORTH BRUNSWICK - The township school district's buildings and grounds crew is undertaking a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Approximately 7,000 cubic yards of soil were left over from the high school construction project which was completed in September 2006. Most of the dirt is from the original site, while some material was imported during the construction of the auxiliary gymnasium and other soil was from the excavation of the auditorium, according to Bill O'Connor, the supervisor of Buildings & Grounds.

The school district finalized the purchase of the dirt for $176,365 in September using funds from the original construction referendum budget from four years ago. The dirt will be used for the possible construction of a softball field and renovation of the practice football and lacrosse field. O'Connor said that most of the labor will be done in-house, but that components such as the drainage system and irrigation system will have to be contracted out.

The original construction plans for the school included a softball field because the existing field had proved to be inadequate and its irrigation system was rendered out of service, according to O'Connor. The dirt is already being leveled around the back of the property, and O'Connor said the expectation is to have the project completed by the spring, although probably not for spring use, depending on the winter weather.

"I think this is a very positive thing. The fields that were in the back of the building were in poor condition, just from years and years of use," O'Connor said. "I think this will be a great project when it's done. It will benefit a lot of people."

O'Connor also said that if extra dirt exists after the school's fields are completed, there may be discussions with helping the township complete the remediation of Veterans Park. That is to be determined.