BOE says repair field up to par, or replace it Controversy over condition of artificial turf field continues BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN- As soon as the Board of Education's Dec. 19 meeting ended, a sense of confusion filled the room. Many of the people in attendance came expecting to hear from representatives of Mondo USA, which was awarded the contract for the controversial artificial turf field at High School North. But when the board president adjourned the meeting after the public hearing, people remained in their seatswonderingwhat had just happened. "I thought we were going to hear from Mondo," Middletown parent Bill Heaney said. "They said earlier that Mondo would speak to us about the field." After a 15-minute discussion behind closed doors, board Vice President and facilities committee head Laura Agin opened up an informal session of the public facilities committee meeting so the remaining members of the public could speak with the representatives fromMondo USA. Heaney started the discussion, which was moderated by Agin and supervised by committee members Joan Minnuies, Pat Walsh and Sherry Gevarter. "It's now been 27 days since we were told the field would be worked on and nothing has been done," Heaney said. "I don't know if we've written another check out, we have no knowledge of what is being done. Mr. Hoy [representative of Mondo USA], when he told us to trust you, the public did trust you." Heaney was referring to a meeting in August at which Glenn Hoy, a sales manager with Mondo USA, said that even though people might be unfamiliar with his company's work, they should not be nervous about the product [field] that the high school would get. Since then, the field was built, with many on the board and members of the public describing it at board meetings as a "complete mess." During the meeting on Nov. 20, a representative from Dartz & Matz, the local installer working for Mondo USA, told the residents that all repairs would be done within the next week. After almost two hours of discussion, the board voted to withhold payment of $453,000 to Mondo USA that was to be paid after Thanksgiving until the final condition of the field could be seen. The board has been paying Mondo USA in installments; this was to be the second. "You told us that you were a hands-on company, and we find out that Dartz & Matz were selling themselves as Mondo but what they are is subcontractors," Heaney said. "That to me is not hands-on. You deceived the public." Agin agreed with Heaney's statement that there was confusion over whether the people working on the field were from Mondo USA or Dartz & Matz. "He is absolutely right," Agin said. "I introduced the gentleman sitting at the table here last month as being from Mondo and he stood up and never said anything that he wasn't from Mondo or a representative from somewhere else. He represented himself as Mondo." The question then arose as to why the deadline to finish the field was not met and why no further work had been done on the field. "After our last meeting, the board had another meeting where we came to an agreement that we would ask Mondo to stop work on the field," Agin said. "It was our decision." Brion Rittenberry, president and CEO of Kiefer Flooring, in charge of turf fields for Mondo USA, spoke to the concerned parents. "We are not happy with the way field is," Rittenberry said. "We are proud of our representation and we have every intention of repairing what needs to be repaired. We do not want this to be a black eye on our reputation." He then described the corrective work that was going to be done to the field. He said the company will replace both sidelines, and at the same time will straighten out the carpet to make the field lines even. He also said they would replace a carpet panel. "There is an area that we have identified that we will be recommending that they take the panel and pull it back," Rittenberry said. "That's what needs to be done." Middletown resident Jim Cody, who is a sales representative for IC Improvements, the company that unsuccessfully bid to build the field at High School North, asked Rittenberry if what had been done so far to the field is normal for turf field repairs. "We were told that they were doing cross cutting on the field," Cody said. "In our line of work is that permissible?" Rittenberry said it is not, to which Cody responded that residents were told that crosscutting was being done on the field. "We will be monitoring all repairs," Rittenberry said. "We assure you it will be done correctly." He then discussed the list that has been compiled of repairs needed to the field and was asked why the list is so long and so many repairs are needed. "We've made some mistakes," Rittenberry said. "We're human, we're not robots." Joseph Lucarelli, president of the Lucarelli Group, the district's construction management company, said that if the Board of Education decided after the repairs are made that the field is not up to standards, then it will be completely redone with a new carpet put down and paid for by Mondo USA. "If the field is not done to specifications and approval of the Board of Education, then Mondo is required to replace the field," Lucarelli said. "That's how they are going into this repair work." Business Administrator Bill Doering said that the board is prepared to pay Mondo USA $177,000 as the next installment out of the total due $768,000. So far the Board of Education will have paid $354,000 of the total Mondo USA will be paid, which drew some concerns from the people in attendance. "Even after we give them the next payment, we still haven't paid for half of it," Doering said. The people at the meeting wanted to know who would be to blame for the mistakes that have been made in installation of the field. "We would be held accountable," Rittenberry said. "We are taking steps to fix what we have done." Many in attendance still left upset over the matter, a sentiment shared by the board members who are on the facilities committee. "We are equally as frustrated, believe me," Agin said. "But at this point we are looking to move forward and fix the problem."