The town will request bid specifications for a new artificial field and rubberized track at Oxford High School.
Based on a recommendation by the newly formed Oxford High School Athletic Fields Construction Committee, the Board of Selectmen on Wednesday voted 2-0 to seek bids for site work, a rubberized track with asphalt beneath, artificial turf and bleachers (grandstand) for the high school. Selectman Dave McKane, the lone Democrat on the three-member board, abstained.
Selectman Jeff Haney, who has been working with the new athletic fields committee, said he expects the project will cost about $2.6 million, plus the town will put aside another $400,000 for contingency, bringing the total to $3 million.
Once the town receives bids for all portions of the project, the plan must get a favorable referral from the Inland Wetlands Agency and approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission. The funding portion of the plan, which will be reviewed by the Board of Finance, must then be approved at a town meeting, which First Selectman George Temple said will likely be held next month.
The plan, Temple said, is to have the field ready for play in the fall.
Oxford Patch will update this story.
