SBRC Rips DHS Practice Field Landscaper, Withholds Payment

A key ingredient to a suitable athletic practice field is grass, and that's exactly what the new Dedham High School field is missing, officials said Monday.

School Building Rehabilitation Committee members said they will withhold roughly $30,000 from Fillion's Landscaping until the SBRC is satisfied with the condition of the practice field.

The field was hydroseeded in April, and little grass has grown in since.

"You just have to look at it to realize it isn't what we bargained for," SBRC member Andrew Lawlor said. 

"It's just not in good condition at this point," SBRC chairman Michael Butler said.

But Todd McCabe, of Consigli, the construction contractor, said rarely does hydroseeding produce a thick field of grass on the first attempt. Often times, a landscaper will have to reseed and regrade the field, McCabe said.

"And that's going to have to go through a few growing seasons before it becomes a full, mature, stabalized field," McCabe said. "We aren't walking away from it."

Consigli and Fillion's are scheduled to meet on Thursday.

The committee wants a "carpet" of grass before football practices begins in August.

"There is a shrinking window to get that field to where it should be before we hit the July sun," Lawlor said. "This committee has patience. If [Fillion's] want to grind it out, we will grind it out until we get what we bargained for."