Regional School Unit 5 directors hope to have firmer numbers by next week on a proposed January bond referendum that, if approved, would fund a new synthetic track and playing field at Freeport High School.

The board next meets on Oct. 12. The school board also meets on Oct. 26, and the “drop-dead” date for submitting referendum language is Nov. 9.

The “floating figure” of a $1.4 million, 10-year bond could change by the time attorney William Stockmeyer gets the referendum language back to the board, Vice Chairwoman Beth Parker of Freeport said last week. At its meeting Sept. 28, the board weighed pros and cons of a 2017 versus a 2018 construction time for the estimated $4 million project. It opted for 2017.

Stockmeyer is working with several elements, including “moving numbers” on costs and the amount of money needed.  Board Chairwoman Michelle Ritcheson of Durham said that Stockmeyer will try to work all the elements into one question, with the exception of a second question that would deal with $924,000 for amenities, such as lights, bleachers and buildings. The second question would be a moot point if Question 1 fails, Ritcheson pointed out.

“Bill wants one main question, to avoid mixed messages,” Ritcheson said.

In a straw vote, director Kathryn Brown of Pownal cast the only dissenting vote on moving forward with a bond amounting to approximately $1.4 million.

“I’m not comfortable asking for a bond from voters that is more than $1 million,” Brown said.

The Tri-Town Track & Field Project has been planning and raising money for an all-weather track and field at the high school for more than a year. Freeport High has no outdoor track, and the grass playing field drains poorly and suffers from overuse.

As part of the single “tiered” question, residents would decide if they want to re-allocate the $600,000 it would cost to rebuild the grass field – money that was part of the $14.6 million renovation of Freeport High School – into the amount raised, which at this point is $2,350,000. That sum includes $1.35 million from Nike, on the condition that the track be named for 1984 Women’s Olympic Marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, who lives in Freeport.

Kelly Wentworth, director of finances and human resources for RSU 5, has been busy crunching numbers for the board and for Stockmeyer. Wentworth said that the potential impact to the median tax bill for homeowners in each community if the full $1.4 million were bonded for a 10-year period would be an annual contribution of $15.40 in Freeport, $16.95 in Durham and $19.25 in Pownal.

At the outset of the Sept. 28 meeting, Ritcheson listed the reasons the board might favor a 2017 construction time. She said it would then fall in line with the renovation of Freeport High School, which will be complete by the end of next summer. Athletes would have one less year to play on sub-par fields. On the negative side, the timeline to obtain design work and approvals would be tight, and bidding for contractors in spring could lead to less favorable pricing.

A 2018 timeline would allow for a longer design, permitting and bidding window. But cost escalations could add up to $105,000.

“The biggest pro for 2017 is that it will be in line with the high schol renovation, and one less year playing on bad fields,” Ritcheson said. “But it’s a tight timeline. It is a very aggressive timeline to get this done and it requires up-front costs. If we want to have it done in 2017, we have to start the process now.”

School board Chairwoman Michelle Ritcheson, left, and Superintendent Becky Foley confer prior to the Sept. 28 Regional School Unit 5 meeting in the refurbished Freeport High School library.