Published in the July 11, 2018 edition
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield Middle School track is close to being completed, Fields Committee Chairman Arthur Bourque said in an interview with the Villager.
Bourque said the contractor spent the last week of June and first week of July installing the polyurethane surface on the track. He noted the track was painted red and is scheduled to be striped this weekend.
“The track needs to cure for a week before they stripe it,” said Bourque. “It looks really nice. We want to have it open some time around July 18.”
Bourque noted the process to finish the LMS track was “painstakingly slow.”
“The machinery that they use is extremely accurate, but it moves extremely slow,” said Bourque. “The process of creating the surface involves blending chemical liquids with crumb rubber, and that is mixed in a hopper and then moved to the paver in power wheelbarrows. There is a lot of hand labor involved and it is just very slow.”
In addition to installing the track’s surface, Bourque said the contractor has “erected a new storage building for the track equipment.”
“We have completed installation of the irrigation system and, more importantly, the electrical service that powers the pump in the new well so we can run the irrigation system,” said Bourque. “We have completed the landscaping, giving the Parsons Avenue folks a bit of a buffer. We are going to add an irrigation loop on that end to make that area grow, but we need to wait until the current contractor is out of there.”
Bourque thanked the Lynnfield Athletic Association for using the proceeds from the 51st annual LAA Fourth of July 5K Road Race to purchase track equipment.
“Kristen Shinnick and the LAA deserves tremendous credit because they are buying all new track equipment with road race money,” said Bourque. “It’s going to be a first-class track facility when it’s done.”
Bourque noted the new field at the LMS track and field complex will be ready for teams to use this fall. The field was taken out of service for a year.
“The field looks great,” said Bourque. “It has a great crown to it and has a great drainage system. It has a great irrigation system and great water. This is going to be a great facility for the Lynnfield track teams, amateur athletes and any of the high school teams that want to play here. It gives us one more full-sided field.”
Bourque said the new LMS field is “much wider than the previous field.”
“The biggest field for MIAA sports is girls’ lacrosse, and we can run girls’ lacrosse here,” said Bourque. “It’s going to be great when we can put this in play.”
Bourque noted the DPW will be cleaning up the concession stand at the LMS track and field complex this summer, including replacing rotten trim board with Azek.
“The building is going to be painted before the summer is over,” said Bourque. “We are essentially going to have a new brand new building. We are going to put a water bubbler and water bottle filler on the outside of the concession stand so the kids on the track teams can fill their water bottles.”
Bourque said the middle school softball field was upgraded last fall, and was used by the JV team this past spring.
Town Meeting voted to allocate $2.25 million for the track and fields project in April 2017. While Bourque and local officials hoped to have the track project completed last fall, a wet spring delayed the contractor from installing the polyurethane surface.
