Inglewood Middle School Athletic Field Improvements

Parks and Recreation

Project Manager

Michelle Arab

Project Overview

Inglewood Middle School's athletic fields and track is under construction!

The athletic field improvements at Inglewood Middle School will convert underutilized track and natural turf fields into a facility with synthetic turf multi-purpose fields and lights, a new restroom, perimeter fencing and netting, spectator furnishings, stormwater improvements, landscaping, and irrigation.

This project has been identified in Citywide planning documents for many years as the City has been limited in active recreation space. In 2020, a city-wide Athletic Field Study was completed and documented the shortage of athletic fields in the City. According to the study, 55% of households in Sammamish have children under the age of 18, which is over 20% higher than households in King County and Washington State. These fields are needed – for the school and our community.

This project aims to increase field availability for the community during non-school hours, providing over 2,500 additional hours of use annually. Furthermore, the inclusion of accessible features such as synthetic turf fields, a gender-neutral restroom, wheelchair-friendly dugouts, and accessible parking addresses mobility and accessibility challenges faced by residents.

By optimizing underutilized resources, this project exemplifies sustainable development practices, focusing on enhancing existing infrastructure rather than investing in new facilities. This initiative builds upon a longstanding 20-year partnership between the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) and the City of Sammamish, aligning with the Interlocal Agreement established in 2004 to provide enhanced athletic facilities for educational and recreational purposes.

Timeline

Feasibility Study: April 2021 – February 2022 (Complete)
Feasibility Approved as Complete by City Council: Feb 15, 2022
Design, Construction Documents, and Permitting: Summer 2022 - Spring 2023 (Complete)
Bidding and Award: Summer / Fall 2023 (Complete)
Construction: Spring 2024 - Summer 2024
Field Opening: Fall 2024

Joint Use Agreement

In 2004, the City entered into a Joint Use Agreement with LWSD for the management and scheduling of the athletic fields and facilities belonging to both entities. This agreement was initiated to make the LWSD athletic fields available for community use when not in use by LWSD. Since the synthetic turf conversion in 2004, the City of Sammamish has improved, maintained, and managed the scheduling of athletic fields at Eastlake High School and has collected field use fees since that time. Maintenance costs are divided proportionate to use by LWSD and the City.

In 2020, due to the success of this arrangement, the City and LWSD agreed to have the City manage the scheduling of all their other elementary and middle school fields within the City limits. LWSD continues to maintain these fields. Currently, due to the poor quality and condition of the fields at the elementary and middle schools, there is no fee for their use. Following construction of the synthetic turf athletic fields at Inglewood Middle School, the City will begin to collect field use fees at this newly improved site.

Maintenance Costs

The City maintains both City-owned fields and LWSD-owned fields that the City has improved (Eastlake High School and soon Inglewood Middle School). This maintenance includes adding infill material when needed; raking and grooming the field surface; irrigation repairs; mowing; netting or fencing repairs; picking up trash; and cleaning and maintaining the restroom buildings. Based on known maintenance costs for Eastlake High School athletic fields, the field rental fees currently cover the maintenance and operational costs of those fields with a small surplus; however, this surplus is not nearly enough to cover turf replacement costs.

Capital Costs

Costs to build athletic fields are significant. Public field rental fees are typically subsidized, and cover maintenance and operational costs, but not capital costs. “Synthetic Turf Athletic Field Cost Projections – Inglewood Middle School” (see Related Resources in the sidebar) outlines costs associated with synthetic turf fields with lights for Inglewood Middle School, for construction, annual maintenance, and replacement. It also includes projected revenues and summarizes the net cost of providing these fields to the community. This presents a high-level summary of net costs that can be translated to similar synthetic turf field configurations, such as Eastlake High School. In general terms, we can apply these proportions to other field development projects although there will be some variations in both development/replacement costs and fees collected due to the size, number of fields, and whether the field is lit.

Scheduling

One component that is not factored in the costs is scheduling. The City’s Recreation and Cultural Services Manager and the Rental Systems Coordinator oversee field and facility rentals. They spend a significant amount of time scheduling and adjusting field use for community groups. Athletic field rentals occupy approximately 30% of the Recreation and Cultural Services Manager’s annual workload. The City’s Parks Maintenance team also provides heavy field support with lining, mowing, maintaining equipment, and providing customer support in the field.

Project Budget

A total of $13,800,000 is allocated in the 2023-2024 Parks CIP budget for the Concept Design of the Inglewood Middle School Phase I - Synthetic turf and field renovation project and is inclusive of all planning, design, and construction costs.