Highlighted by a change from a natural grass to artificial turf playing surface, Lehighton Area School District approved construction of a $6.3 million multipurpose athletic stadium Tuesday night.

The 5-4 vote awarded the general construction contract to CMG of Easton for $5.229 million, electrical construction contract to Pagoda Electrical Inc. of Reading, for $582,748 and mechanical contract to Master Mechanical of McAdoo, for $452,548.Additional general construction items approved Tuesday include track resurfacing for $200, end zone lettering spelling out "Lehighton" and "Indians" for $17,000, and a stairwell providing an additional entrance to the stadium at the southwest corner of the property for $45,000. Most of the track resurfacing had already been figured into the main contract by CMG, resulting in the low bid.Using A-Turf, a field turf manufacturer out of Lancaster, will reduce the cost of the project by $22,500.The final project cost, when you factor in soft costs and a 3 percent contingency for change orders, will likely rise over $6.5 million."It's about time you put the students in front of money," Gordon Ripkey, former Lehighton High School administrator, told the board. "We used to play at Victory Park in Slatington and they got a new stadium. We used to play at Delaware Avenue in Palmerton and they got a new stadium. Everyone else improved while we did nothing. Thank God you took care of the young kids."The stadium, to be located next to the administration building along Indian Lane, would play host to Lehighton's home football games, which are now played at the field next to the middle school. Soccer, field hockey and track and field events are already held there.Aside from the field, other plans include constructing a visitor and home grandstand, press box, 62-foot by 260-foot field house, 42-foot by 74-foot restroom/maintenance building, a 119-vehicle paved parking lot and a 100-vehicle grass overflow lot; and installing a new lighting system for the field and paved parking areas.Mixed reactionAfter much discussion about how the project would be funded, Gloria Bowman, Wayne Wentz, Larry Stern, Stephen Holland and Andrew Yenser voted to award the contracts.Hal Resh, Rocky Ahner, Lori Nothstein and William Hill voted against it, many of them hoping to table the matter for further discussion.When being told the majority of the project would be paid for out of the unassigned fund balance, Hill said he was uncomfortable with that idea."We've got payroll obligations, pension obligations and day-to-day expenses," Hill said. "If you take this out, you're going to have to replenish it another time."Ahner said he wasn't against the stadium, but felt the district was moving forward too fast."We are the goalkeepers for the district and I really think we should step back and see how much we can afford," he said.For others on the board, like Larry Stern, the improvements can't come soon enough."This has been three years in the planning and 25 years overdue," he said.Also part of Tuesday's package of votes was a land development agreement between the district and Lehighton Borough. The agreement didn't sit well with Hill, particularly a section that requires the district to put $5,000 into an account which the borough would draw down on when it completes checklist items such as inspections."They have to treat us like any other developer," solicitor William Schwab said."It's a standard agreement that says we will follow through with the plans we presented to them."Taxpayer David Bradley spoke of safety and environmental concerns related to artificial turf and questioned the cost effectiveness of the project."You could have fixed the old stadium for less than $1 million," he said.The stadium had plenty of support from taxpayers in attendance.Past its prime?Gerald Strubinger Jr., president of the Lehighton Touchdown Club, said fixing the old stadium would be like spending a lot of money on a facility that is past its prime."You can't use the top rows of the stadium right now," he said. "The press box is in disrepair. The facility is just too small."East Penn Township's Tom Wertman said the majority of the residents he talked to support the new stadium."It's time to put the shovel in the ground," Wertman said. "This will be something the entire community can be proud of."Lehighton track coach Jim Blakeslee, a Franklin Township resident, said the stadium shouldn't be a political decision, it should be done for the students."Sometimes we forget why we're really here," he said."Decisions are made based upon reviewing all the facts. Tonight we found out whether the board has that Lehighton passion."Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said it would take three to four weeks for the contractor to get mobilization set up on at the site. The football team will still play its home games by the middle school for the upcoming fall season."That allowed us more flexibility with this project and also may have helped us with bids by giving the contractor more time to finish," Cleaver said."They're usually in a situation where they have to quickly finish projects for the fall sports season and we're fortunate to have another facility we can use in the meantime."