Scituate's Kazlousky basketball courts will undergo a nearly $1 million reconstruction after the Select Board unanimously approved a construction contract July 7, paving the way for work expected to be completed this fall.
The board awarded a $991,635 contract to DanDel Construction for a comprehensive renovation of the outdoor courts after the company submitted the lowest of three bids. Town officials said the project will replace deteriorating playing surfaces while addressing drainage issues that have contributed to the courts' condition.
Recreation Director Nick Lombardo said the existing facility has reached the point where a complete rebuild is necessary.
"We're basically looking at a full reconstruction of Kazlousky courts. It is in disrepair right now. It's in really rough shape. The whole thing needs to be torn up and redone."
The project will maintain the existing footprint while replacing the courts with post-tension concrete, a construction method officials said is expected to provide a longer lifespan. Plans also call for relocating and renovating the storage shed, installing a water bottle filling station and constructing a connecting pathway between the courts. Existing lighting and bleachers will remain in place, while the basketball standards will be replaced because of structural deterioration. The backboards and rims installed by the Scituate Basketball Association within the past two years will be reused.
Board member Freya Schlegel asked whether the reconstruction would address concerns raised during earlier discussions that groundwater may have contributed to cracking in the current courts. Mark Novak of Activitas said the design includes safeguards intended to prevent the problem from recurring.
"Underneath the courts we'll have a polyethylene membrane, but we've also included a number of test pits. So once the courts get demolished, we're going to perform some additional test pits to try to find out what was really causing that water to come in. So potentially we can address that before we start to rebuild."
Novak said the project also includes a new drainage system along the hillside adjacent to the courts to capture runoff before it reaches the playing surface.
The contract came in below the project's available budget, making it the only proposal among the three bidders to do so. Lombardo told the board that town officials recently met with DanDel Construction and were confident the company could complete the work by late September or early October, weather permitting.
Novak said the contractor's experience also helped distinguish the winning bid.
"Their primary subcontractor is Cape and Island Tennis and Track, and they've been doing postension concrete courts for the longest period of time out of all other contractors in the New England area. So they're very, very experienced."
The Select Board unanimously approved the $991,635 contract with DanDel Construction, allowing work on the Kazlousky basketball courts to move forward with completion anticipated by late September or early October, weather permitting.