East Lyme's Athletic Fields: Where Did Everything Go?

Since construction began at the East Lyme's Athletic Complex, a number of people have asked the East Lyme Board of Selectmen what happened to the fixtures from the old high school field.

As Town Engineer Bill Scheer explained it, the town shaved about $9,000 off the price of construction by giving the contractor the right to take whatever was there and resell or dispose of it. At last night's Board of Selectmen meeting, Scheer went over the inventory: 

• The metal and wood from bleachers were sold as scrap, which the town valued at about $2,000 at most. The contractor also donated some of the bleachers East Lyme's Youth Football League. 

"Now we have better bleachers at our youth football field," said East Lyme Selectman Kevin Seery.

• The lights were offered to East Lyme Parks and Recreation but as they were nonstandard, perched atop tall aging wooden poles, and difficult to remove, East Lyme declined the offer. The town of Waterford's youth football league did want them, however, and undertook to remove them with the blessing of the contractor for no cost and at no cost.
• The topsoil, which generally goes for a good price, went to East Lyme's landfill and public works department.
• The gravel, which costs more to truck off site than the material is worth, was removed and resold by the contractor.
• The old press box wasn't worth much, Scheer said, but the contractor did find homes for the windows and the wood and metal was sold as scrap.
• The old scoreboard was offered to East Lyme's Parks and Recreation Department but it was at the end of its lifespan and deemed to be not much use. It was destroyed by the contractor, who may have been able to salvage something as scrap to be resold.   

At last night's meeting, Selectwoman Rose Ann Hardy suggested that in the future, a system be put in place to dispose of any existing equipment that the town intends to get rid of and replace.

Hardy volunteered to work on developing such a system, which may include using the town's web site to advertise property that the town wishes to dispose of so that other people or organizations can buy it.