Hartland Township Looks to Approve Contractor for Athletic Field Project

The Hartland Township Board of Trustees agreed to vote at their next meeting to approve a contractor for a 64-acre athletic park located off of M-59, near Pleasant Valley Road during Tuesday nights board meeting.

Eagle Gold Construction, located in Fenton, was the low bidder out of eleven other bids, coming in at $640,000, which was 30 percent lower than estimates the township had previously received.

Construction will begin in April, according to Township manager James Wickman, and will include six football/lacrosse fields and four soccer fields which will be ready by the summer of 2013. 

The township board has plans to contact representatives from Michigan State University, experts in athletic fields, regarding seeding for the fields.

“We’ll be using their recommendation,” Supervisor Bill Fountain said during the work session. “They’re the best in the Midwest for sure, maybe the best in the world when it comes to athletic fields."

“We want to be very intentional about that because there isn’t irrigation out there,” Wickman said. “It doesn’t make grass growing impossible, but we want to set it up for success.”

Fountain also has plans to meet with several youth sports groups such as Hartland Area Youth Athletic Association and Hartland Community Soccer who have expressed interest in helping to maintain the fields.

The project estimate is $734,000, and the board is expected to approve the low bid during the March 20 township meeting.