Concrete footings for the Hunnewell track & field lights have started to be installed, and the 80 ft. light poles could be up by the end of March or start of April.
Note that installations, including foundation drilling and crane use, are slated to take place during school vacation this week and will force track closures on Feb. 21 and 23. The bathroom/concession building is expected to arrive during the summer; the old concession building has been removed.
Town Engineer David Hickey and Wellesley School Committee member Linda Chow shared updates on the track and field light, bathroom, and team room projects during the Feb. 13 Playing Fields Task Force meeting (see Wellesley Media recording).
When pressed by Task Force Chair Jerry Nigro about when to expect a possible event under the lights, Hickey said maybe by the end of April or May. Chow tamped down expectations later though, pointing to special conditions from the Wetlands Protection Committee that must be met first, including wildlife habitat measurements, plus Natural Resource Commission policy adjustments.
The NRC approved the School Committee proposal for lights in 2022 after much public discussion that pitted those in favor of the lights for competitive and community reasons vs. those citing neighborhood and environmental concerns.
Looking beyond the bathrooms and lights, Chow shared an update on the planned team rooms/locker rooms, which the School Committee this spring will ask Town Meeting for more money to fund. It will seek $175K for design work on what may or may not be a pre-fab building as originally envisioned. Like the rest of the project, the team rooms have been in the works for years (in this case 2018), and now the town will need to figure out what new conditions might apply to them, such as the Municipal Opt-In Specialized Energy Code approved by Town Meeting last year.
The original cost estimate for team rooms was under $500K, but now it’s looking like it could be closer to $800K if a modular approach is used.
Also on the funding front, Chow said the team recently went back to the Community Preservation Committee and got approval for $500K in CPC funds to help cover costs for the new concession/bathroom facility. While $525K was appropriated for the project in 2018, the cost has now roughly doubled.
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