Bid for New Track and Field Comes in Under Budget. RSC Authorizes Contract
Eight lane track with grass infield. Photo: istock
The Regional School Committee (RSC) received news at their February 11, 2025 meeting that the low bidder for the High School Track and Field Project came in under budget. They voted unanimously to accept the bid and authorize the superintendent to execute the necessary contracts.
The track and field project received 10 bids last week ranging from ~$4 to $7 million for the base bid plus six “add alternate” items that the RSC hoped to be able to include. The designers, SLR International Corporation, had estimated the costs at $4.46 million. The low bidder was M.J. Cataldo, Inc. of Littleton, MA, with a bid total of $4.1 million. The Indy confirmed that the $254,200 in designer’s fees due to SLR are separate from this amount, bringing the current total project cost to $4.36 million.
To date, the project has secured $4,508,840 in funding with another $176,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds requested from Leverett (the other 3 regional towns have already approved requested CPA funding). Amherst Special Capital Projects Manager Bob Peirent confirmed to The Indy that two of the add alternates (the ball netting and track runout sections) might need to be deferred until a later time if the Leverett CPA funding does not come through. With the Leverett funding, the project would have a 7.9% contingency and those alternate items would remain.
Peirent and Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek recommended that the RSC accept the bid so that contracts could be executed. They indicated that construction is expected to start this June and that while it may not be completed by the first day of the 2026-2027 school year, it would be completed soon after.
Amherst RSC member Deb Leonard encouraged Peirent and Ziomek to work expeditiously to ensure that an agreement is reached between the Regional School District and the Town of Amherst for maintenance and management of the new track and field facility. Ziomek agreed and said that this is “next on our list.”