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Spinelli Field in Bennington, after a rainfall in 2021.

Spinelli Field in Bennington, after a rainfall in 2021.

BENNINGTON — A year ago, when voters shot down a $3.5 million bond to improve Spinelli Field, the volunteers leading the effort said they would reassess and possibly come back with another plan.

Components of what could become that new proposal — which proponents hope will cost significantly less and not require another bond vote — will be discussed at a meeting of the Spinelli Field Ad-hoc Committee at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union’s offices at 131 North St.

Representatives from synthetic playing surface supplier FieldTurf and from the Clark Cos., a construction firm specializing in athletic facilities, are expected to attend and lay out possible options for moving ahead with the project. SVSU administrators Holly Andersen, its director of facilities management and operations, and Renee Gordon, its director of finance and operations, are also scheduled to attend.

One of those options could be a co-op agreement with FieldTurf, allowing the district to pay for the improvements over time out of its operating budget, rather than borrowing and repaying the cost. There are also hopes that funding for the project — currently guesstimated at about $2 million — could come from private donations.

“We have nothing formal on paper right now,” Spinelli committee Chairman Mike Malloy said. “We’ll listen to them and see what they have in mind.”

The representatives — Peter Byjak of FieldTurf and Jim Catella of the Clark Cos. — are attending thanks to connections made by Peter Geannelis, an MAU athletics supporter and volunteer who has worked on the school’s baseball and softball fields as a volunteer.

A three-sport athlete at MAU in the 1970s, Geannelis got involved in the project after a bond authorization vote that would have funded improvements to the facilities was defeated by district voters.

Geannelis connected with Clark Cos. in 2008 when, as a volunteer learning how to rebuild baseball fields for his kids’ youth teams, he met company workers as they were rebuilding the baseball field at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.

Geannelis said he’s learned that FieldTurf has a co-op leasing program, which allows customers to pay the cost over a period of eight years rather than paying for it up front. Taking advantage of that program would allow the district to fit the cost into its annual budget without borrowing, Geannelis said.

“The town shot [the earlier proposal] down because it was overpriced. This is a way to handle the project within the budget, and it won’t affect taxes. ... This money is in there,” Geannelis said.

The plan floated last year would have widened and replaced the natural grass field with synthetic FieldTurf that could be used year-round, resurfaced the running track, replaced the incandescent floodlights with brighter and more energy-efficient LED lighting, and added a multipurpose building with accessible bathrooms.

The proposal was defeated by district voters last November, with 841 votes in favor and 1,217 opposed.

Malloy said the all-purpose building would be removed from the plan to cut costs.

“All we’re looking at right now is the field, the track and the lighting,” Malloy said. “The plan is for the committee to be there, listen and make a recommendation to the board.”

According to Geannelis, Spinelli Field got about $60,000 of “Band-aid” work over the summer. Despite that, “It’s not getting any better,” Malloy said.

“I’m coaching boys soccer — we have a great soccer team, and we don’t play many games on our field,” he said.

Malloy and Geannelis said synthetic turf is preferable, because it can be used through the entire school year, as many times as needed, without requiring the labor and expense needed for grass fields.

“You put in one turf field, you get four fields,” Malloy said. “You can use it for practice, for games, winter, fall, during the summer, for physical education class. It comes down to usability — being able to use all it all seasons. That’s where we’re at.

Geannelis said drainage isn’t the biggest culprit for Spinelli Field’s condition, as it had sub-level drainage pipes installed in the 1990s. “To maintain a field like that, you need to aerate it. If it’s high-use, you’ve got to overseed it and top dress it. It’s ridiculously expensive, and no one has the money. It happens all across the state.”

Last year, proponents said, given the drainage on the site, a natural grass field is impractical, while a synthetic turf field is needed to allow for full-year use by sports teams and other student organizations. They also noted the running track is in disrepair and, at only six lanes wide, cannot host a state championship meet.

Opponents focused on cost, saying it was too expensive for taxpayers, and on health concerns given the possible presence of PFAS chemicals in the plastics used to make synthetic turf.

The complex is named for the Rev. Vincent Spinelli, who served as principal of the former Bennington Catholic High School and was a key supporter of efforts to build a Mount Anthony Union High School. He died on Sept. 20, 1965, in a plane crash that also took the lives of MAU Principal Ralf Kates, Molly Stark Elementary School Principal W. Philip Walker and curriculum consultant James H. Morgan.

Greg Sukiennik covers government and politics for Vermont News & Media. Reach him at gsukiennik@benningtonbanner.com.

Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.

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