Installing of a new gym floor begins for Fairfield
Errant baseball sets off sprinkler system, damaging floor.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The installation of a new hardwood floor for the Fairfield High School auxiliary gym has begun and should be completed in the next few weeks, Assistant Superintendent Rob Amodio said.
The old hardwood floor needed to be replaced after a junior varsity baseball player accidentally set off the sprinkler system with a batted ball in early April. The floor suffered irreparable damage from the subsequent flooding.
Extras
On May 2, the Board of Education approved the allocation of "an amount not to exceed $47,200" from the permanent improvement fund for the floor's immediate replacement.
"It was an emergency decision," Fairfield school board member Diana Bailey said. "The longer we waited, the more the water trickles down and the more we need to repair."
School spokesman Randy Oppenheimer said that he expects the school's insurance policy to cover the damage, and for most of the money to be returned to the permanent improvement fund.
"The claim is still in process," Oppenheimer said. "We may have to pay a deductible; but we expect the insurance to cover the full amount."
In the midst of the spring sports season, and with camp season around the corner, Fairfield needed to act fast.
"As we were getting quotes on the project, we spent some time rescheduling practices, activities, camps and stuff like that,"
Amodio said.
"I was checking on it last week, it might be looking like the middle of June," Athletic Director James Sherard said about the project's estimated time of completion. "It comes at a time when people want to have camps. But we're fortunate to have other gyms."
The accident occurred during JV batting practice before a road game.
"I guess they couldn't get (the sprinkler) turned off," varsity coach Larry Price said. "It was before a game. They always hit there before they go."
