News : VS School Board unanimously approves track and turf project

Viking football coach Jim Womochil discusses a sample of field turf with architect Josh Pope.

As a soccer mom and ticket-taker, Kris Howes-Vonstein said saw two reasons to become a strong supporter of the Vinton-Shellsburg field turf project.

As a mom, she was concerned about the safety of her two soccer-loving daughters on a field that is rough and often muddy.

As the ticket-taker for home games, she heard comments from players, fans and even officials.

“I heard two young officials behind the scoreboard discussing how unsafe and horrible that field is,” Mrs. H-V, as she is known to her students at VS Middle School, told the board. “I felt embarrassed. We need something different, something safe.”

Mrs. H-V was one of about 50 people in the audience – 10 time the normal number in the seats – during Monday's school board meeting.

After hearing from architect Josh Pope, and a few members of the audience, the school board voted unanimously to approve both the track resurfacing and synthetic field turf installation during a special meeting on Monday evening.

The project will cost just under $1.2 million, with most of the funding coming from Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) or Local Option Sales Tax funds.

VS Activities Director Jim Struve told the board that approximately $325,000 in donations and business sponsorships has been pledged for the project.