Contract Awarded for New High School Softball Field

The Plum High School girls softball team will be playing on a new field at their school this upcoming season.

At special meeting on Tuesday night, the Plum School Board awarded a $264,750 contract to Palumbo Landscaping Inc. of Penn Hills to install a new field next to the existing boys baseball field at the high school.

The high school softball team has been playing at a Pivik Elementary School field since 2002. They have been displaced since work on the new Pivik began.

Officials said they had $194,000 for the project and an extra $50,000 in the budgetary reserve fund earmarked for the project. That leaves officials $16,000 short of the entire project cost.

Dana Steadman, L. Robert Kimball architect, previously had said bids would come in higher than anticipated because of additional storm water management needed at the site.

Board member Andy Drake said officials must look at the budget seriously to determine where the $16,000 will come from.

Board members said the project has been in the works for years, and they didn't want to put the brakes on it because the storm water management is a necessity.

"The girls have waited long enough to have a decent field," said board member Loretta White.