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Ely football field called “an embarrassment”

Booster club urges improvements for next season

Keith Vendervort
Posted 11/13/14

ELY – The Ely High School football team should be playing on a football field worthy of their tradition of success, according to boosters of the team.

The Ely Touchdown Club pleaded with the …

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Ely football field called “an embarrassment”

Booster club urges improvements for next season

Posted

ELY – The Ely High School football team should be playing on a football field worthy of their tradition of success, according to boosters of the team.

The Ely Touchdown Club pleaded with the ISD 696 School Board this week to fund improvements to the field to provide for a safer playing surface and, as Head Coach Brian Lamppa says, “a first-class facility.”

Tom Omerza, a member of the booster club, said the group has worked to improve the overall appearance of the stadium in recent years but they continue to be concerned with the deteriorating conditions of the field itself.

“Our football field, basically, is in sad shape,” Omerza said. “The players know the surface is bare. They know the surface is hard and that adjusts their fundamentals. They fear falling down and getting hurt from the impact.”

He provided the school board, with support from the athletic director and football coaches, a formal, written request to fund improvements to the field starting next spring.

The condition of the field was evaluated this past fall by Vince Dodge, certified golf superintendent at the Wilderness Golf Course at Fortune Bay. “If you’ve ever golfed at Fortune Bay, you know what that grass is like,” Omerza said. Dodge also involved a Duluth-based football field expert as part of the assessment.

Upon inspection of the field at the end of October, Dodge said, “The turf is in a pretty sorry state. The turf varies from being thin outside the hash marks to outright dirt between the hash marks. I noted that the field had been recently aerified and overseeded, which is commendable, but the field is in need of larger inputs (aerified depth) to make a noticeable difference in its condition. The aerifier was only able to penetrate about an inch into the soil, an indication of a pretty severe soil compaction problem on the field. This creates a very hard surface to play on.”

He outlined a laundry list of procedures needed to recondition the field, and to maintain the improvements. The initial cost of the project is estimated at $4,200. About $2,000 would be needed annually to keep the field in playing shape.

The gate receipts for the four high school varsity home games this season totaled $5,568 on the sale of 1,118 tickets. Athlete participation fees for the football team were $4,425 this year.

Omerza indicated that parents and volunteers are ready to help with the work and maintenance. The turf work would begin in the spring to prepare the field for the start of practice in mid-August.

“The big thing for us, and me as a parent, is the safety of the student athlete,” Omerza said. “And this will not only help Ely, it will help the other teams, They’re going to want to come here to play. It is also going to help Vermilion.” The community college’s football team also uses the field, at a cost of $450 per game.

Coach Brian Lamppa compared the conditions of other fields his team played on this season to the Ely field. “They were plush. They were green. It was unbelievable,” he said.

In addition to the Timberwolves’ and Ironmen’s scheduled home games, the junior high team uses the field and the school teams use it for practice. “We have to practice on that field,” Lampaa said. “We have nowhere else to go. It does take a beating. It is an embarrassment to have teams come here to play. Let’s have a first-class facility.”

Assistant Coach Cory Lassi stressed the importance of safety for the players on the field. “Last year when were practicing at the end of October and beginning of November, we got to the point where we couldn’t even use the field. It was so cold and the dirt in the middle of the field was so icy.”

In support of the district funding the improvements, Board Chairman Ray Marsnik said, “It is our responsibility to keep up these facilities and I recommend we make this one of our priorities.”

The project will be on the agenda at the next school board meeting, scheduled for Dec. 8.

Superintendent evaluation

Marnik distributed a summary of yet another performance evaluation for Superintendent Alexis Leitgeb, conducted in closed session at the Oct. 13 board meeting:

“Prior to Oct.13, 2014, Board Chair Marsnik requested a meeting with Superintendent Leitgeb to review questions regarding attendance and to discuss a possible violation of District Policy #104, School Board Agenda. Supt. Leitgeb declined to meet with Board Chair Marsnik and requested a closed session performance evaluation. The board complied with the request, holding a closed session on Oct. 13.”

During the closed meeting, the summary indicates Marsnik reviewed the email request to meet Leitgeb to discuss his concerns prior to the Oct. 13 board meeting. “Board Chair Marsnik presented email documentation which he believed placed an unnecessary wedge between board members. The areas of immediate improvement identified with Supt. Leitgeb included implementing and following district policies, immediate and sustained improvement on engendering trust among the board, both items were previously identified in May, 2014 and July 2014 Performance Evaluations. This includes communicating equally with the full board. Supt. Leitgeb was reminded of Policy #104; and moving forward will be required to create the agenda in collaboration with Board Chair Marsnik.”

Washington School water heater

The Washington Elementary School hot water heater recently failed and the board was asked to approve a quote to replace the unit at a cost of $19,868 from Gartner Temperature Control of Duluth. A second quote from Brandau Plumbing & Heating, Inc., of Ely, came in at $19,075.

Marsnik questioned why the board was being asked to award a higher bid. Leitgeb said that information she received from Jeff Jankowski, the district’s facilities manager, indicated that the higher bid included a better water heater that would last longer.

Marsnik pointed out that the quote from the local contractor indicated a warranty of 15 years and no warranty was provided on the quote from the Duluth contractor. “I don’t think we are comparing apples to apples here,” he said. I think we should have the same specs.”

He continued, “We have a serious problem over there. There is no hot water in that building and that, to me, is a sanitary issue, and we have to really rush on this. But I would like to know why we are being asked to accept a higher bid. I’m a strong believer in doing business locally.”

Leitgeb will get more information and the board could hold a special meeting prior to the Nov. 17 study session to act on the expenditure.