CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Commission agreed Tuesday to pay approximately $230,000 to replace the turf infield at the East Bank baseball field.
The field, located at East Bank Middle School, got a turf infield about 20 years ago when West Virginia Tech was playing its home games there.
“It was either 2000 or 2002 and it’s totally wore out,” East Bank resident and Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission member Allen Tackett told the commission.
Commissioner Ben Salango said the turf is a safety hazard but the foundation is still good.
“It’s not like we have to go in and do the foundation or cement stabilization or anything like that—you’re just asking to replace the carpet,” Salango said.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said the money would come out of the county’s coal severance funds. County Commissioner Lance Wheeler, joined Carper and Salango and voted in favor of Tuesday’s motion to fund the turf replacement.
“It’s the intent of the commission to write a check and get this done but we will have to go through the process and make sure the school board allows us to do it,” Carper said.
The field is part of the East Bank Middle School campus and owned by the school system. Tackett said he originally asked the Kanawha County Board of Education to replace the turf but he said he was turned down because because the field in its current configuration cannot be used for girls softball.