East Longmeadow voters reject additional funds for high school athletic field

Town Clerk Thomas Florence said 749 residents, or 6.8 percent of the town's 11,000 registered voters, voted.

Gale AssociatesThis is an artist's rendering of track and field renovations at East Longmeadow High School. The $1.5 million project was approved in May, and construction will begin in the summer.

EAST LONGMEADOW – Additions proposed for the East Longmeadow High School athletic field were rejected Tuesday during the special Town Election.

Voters decided not to support an additional $335, 200 for new athletic field equipment.

If approved the money would have funded three water cannons to cool the field, track and field equipment, a fence, a mid-field logo, striping for soccer and field hockey, bleacher seats and additional lights.

Town Clerk Thomas P. Florence said 749 residents voted Tuesday, making up 6.8 percent of the town's 11,000 registered voters.

"I wasn't expecting much more than a 7 percent turnout," Florence said.

Voters did support the first ballot question, which will allow the town to purchase a $1.3 million public safety radio update.

Information Technology Director Ryan Quimby said the public safety radio system will include new handheld and mounted radios as well as a new computer for the fire department dispatch center.

The Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override will cost homeowners with a home valued at $250,000 about $50 in taxes each year for the life of the five-year bond.

The town originally approved $1.5 million for construction of the field during the annual Town Meeting in 2010. An article asking residents to approve the ballot question requesting money for the field went before the town during the May annual Town Meeting. The article passed by a majority vote.

The athletic field project is being overseen by Gale Associates, an engineering firm based in Weymouth, which has worked on several synthetic turf projects throughout the state, including Framingham State College's track and field and Holyoke High School's Roberts Field. Even without the additional funds, the project is expected to be completed this year.