SCHOOL DISTRICT APPROVES CONTRACT STADIUM AND TRACK INCLUDED IN WORK.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The Hart school district board has approved a $13.6 million contract - about $2.5 million higher than original estimates - to renovate high school athletic fields and complete a football stadium at Valencia High.

The William S. Hart Union High School District board Wednesday unanimously approved awarding the contract to Granite Construction of Watsonville. The project includes bleachers at Valencia and Canyon high schools, plus synthetic turf for stadium fields and all-weather tracks at the district's four high schools.

The new fields and stadium are scheduled to be completed by August. Board initiative and steady community pressure helped fast-track the project - part of the district's $45 million Sports Facilities Master Plan compiled last October.

``They need to meet our milestones, or accelerate them,'' said George Beck, Hart facilities director overseeing modernization. ``We have a great deal of confidence that (Granite) can maintain the schedule. We look forward to working with them.''

But the surging costs of raw materials almost sank the project. For example, steel prices have risen by some 25 percent since January due to strong global demand.

This pushed total renovation costs well beyond estimates of $9.5 million in November. Just last month, the Hart board upped the budget to $11.1 million - to be allocated from the local $158 million Measure V construction bond.

``This project looked like it was about to fall off the wheels,'' said Rory Livingston, assistant superintendent of business.

To reconcile other real-world uncertainties, Hart officials requested two independent cost analyses of the field plan, with final estimates landing between $13.8 million and $15 million.

Granite's bid of $13.6 million came in the lowest, but is still over budget by $2.5 million. Livingston said the shortfall would be covered with refunds from community facilities district bonds collected from several Valencia housing tracts, including Tesoro Del Valle.

School districts and builders set up these districts at new developments to collect Mello-Roos taxes to help pay for public facilities such as schools and parks.

``Since we're building the stadium in Valencia, it's a proper use of the funds,'' Livingston said.

Current project scope includes aluminum seating to accommodate up to 4,800 spectators slated for Valencia High, where parents and boosters have petitioned district administrators to construct a football stadium for more than a year.

Canyon High, currently the only campus with a football stadium, will receive additional bleachers to handle the same-size crowd. Also on the list are upgrades to the existing lighting system.

Saugus and Hart high schools will receive up to five rows of portable bleachers on each side of their fields, and the Hart field will be moved about 20 feet as designated in the facilities plan.

Eugene Tong, (661) 257-5253

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com