Easton approves $109K plan to add bleachers for high school athletic fields

Spectators attending sporting events at Easton Area High School will soon have a place to sit other than a grassy hill.

The school board Tuesday voted 6-0 to approve a contract with Southern Bleacher Co. of Graham, Texas, for the installation of bleachers at the athletic fields of the high school, 2601 William Penn Highway, Palmer Township.

The $109,300 price tag gets the district a single-unit, sixrow aluminum seating array with a galvanized steel support structure measuring 102 feet.

The price includes materials, freight and installation, but not excavation, backfilling and grouting for concrete footings and pads.

The district anticipates the bleachers to be ready by spring, Superintendent David Piperato said.

The seating will be available for all outdoor sports other than football, he said.

Providing the bleacher seating is part of a $300,000 outlay that also includes two storage buildings and a building containing bathrooms that the board agreed to in October.

Earlier this year, the board approved replacing the turf field at the high school, installed in 2007, for $2.2 million.

In another matter, the board voted 5-1 in favor of a change order for electrical work at Ada B. Cheston Elementary School, 723 Coal St.

The original agreed-upon price of $2.9 million was increased by $80,448 to cover the cost of requirements mandated by Met-Ed, including a switch between a transformer and metering cabinet.

Board member Thomas Guth Jr. voted no.

The board also voted 6-0 to approve the purchase of furniture for the school at a cost not to exceed $650,000.