LEVERETT – Douglas Slaughter, director of finance for Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, appeared before the Select Board on July 26 to apprise officials of the anticipated costs and financing for the replacement of the track and an athletic field at the Amherst Regional High School.

Slaughter informed the board that the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee voted in March to authorize $1.5 million in debt in support of the proposed work. Several options were considered, a basic resurfacing among them. The regional committee favored some additional improvements to the space interior to the track and adjoining areas as well.

Slaughter said of taking on the debt, “It was just too big a chunk of capital expenditure directly from each of the four towns. So we thought, ‘Well, we’ll break this up into pieces, try to leverage some motivation for fundraising and some other sources that are eligible.’”

The funding for the project will include the debt, which the regional committee authorized with the proviso that another $2.2 million be raised by Jan. 23, 2023. The committee also decided on a third package of options, which includes moving, resizing and reorienting the track and field, and installing synthetic turf.

Discussion focused on the financial pieces that need to come together and the need to replace the track. Select Board Chair Tom Hankinson said, “I played on that field,” when he was a student. Slaughter agreed that the track is in bad shape. The playing surface is worn out. The playing fields currently look good because foot traffic has been somewhat lower during the coronavirus pandemic.

The district’s finance director detailed that repayment on the $1.5 million in debt will be divided among the towns according to the five-year rolling averages of student enrollments. That is the benchmark for dividing the general school levy among the towns.

Amherst taxpayers will furnish $1.2 million, the lion’s share of debt repayment. Leverett’s share will be $126,750, while Pelham and Shutesbury will contribute $82,350 and $106,050, respectively.

The four towns will also be asked to contribute $1.2 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, the track being an eligible project. CPA funds are granted to cities and towns by the state to fund specific types of municipal improvements. Under the current projections, Amherst’s share of CPA funds would be $947,880. Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury will devote grant monies of $101,400, $65,880 and $84,840, respectively.

The proposed financing for the track project includes targets for other sources of funding from the towns, totaling another $1 million. Leverett will be tapped for $40,979, with Pelham adding $29,290 and Shutesbury contributing $39,127. Amherst will pay in $890,604 from other sources.

The Amherst Town Council hosted a community forum on July 18 and unanimously approved a debt authorization request from the regional school committee for $800,000 in CPA money to support the project, which will replace the track – increasing the number of lanes from six to eight – and the field within the track with a synthetic turf that will be reoriented to be north and south instead of east and west.

The new facility would also include a number of accessibility improvements to help students and visitors get down to the field, according to Amherst Finance Director Sean Mangano. The funds are contingent upon the region being able to raise enough money to meet the funding deadline in January 2023. If the target is not met, then the CPA funds will be rescinded.

Slaughter said that moving the track was part of the preferred proposal because the field is difficult to play on at certain times of the day. The sun shines in the eyes of players on the field. A reorientation of the field to a north/south layout should relieve that problem. He also mentioned a need for improved drainage on the site.

“If we can, sort of, impose upon all our communities and our alumni and everyone else, we can raise those other funds and potentially do a much better project that creates a much better facility, which [will be] a regional resource, Slaughter said.”

Slaughter’s presentation also itemized the shortfalls in funding currently earmarked for the project. Some of the four member towns received a little relief from a down reassessment of the levy in fiscal year 2022. That reassessment addressed a balance in the district’s Excess and Deficiencies account above the limit allowed by the commonwealth.

The data showed the total project budget will be $4.7 million, of which $2.9 million is committed and available. Another $1.8 is yet to be committed by the towns. According to Slaughter’s estimates, Amherst will need $500,236 in funds from donations and other sources. Leverett needs to find another $108,186, while $62,968 and $85,069 are still to be raised by Pelham and Shutesbury respectively.

Amherst’s total contribution will reach just over $3 million, while the other towns will supplement the budget with another $1.68 million. Leverett’s contribution will total $269,129 for the track and field relocation, under the proposed financing, while Pelham will contribute $177,520. Shutesbury’s share will total $230,017.

Slaughter was sensitive to the appearance that the smaller towns would be spending money on Amherst real estate. He emphasized that sports enthusiasts from all the towns play on the athletic fields.

Slaughter said, “It’s really a regional resource we’re trying to create here.”

Staff writer Dylan Corey contributed to this story.