Anthony Garzilli
Hardeeville Today

Members of the Jasper County School Board grilled various contractors last week, seeking answers about the poor condition of Hardeeville High’s football field.

“We spent a lot of money for quote-unquote professionals and we stand with a field that we can not play on,” said Board member Kathleen Snooks.

Since opening in 2007, the school has not hosted a football on campus.

A lot of work needs to be done if the school wants to host football games this fall, according to Gary Mazzanna of Mazzanna’s Lawn Service.

He said the field’s soil will not drain, six inches of “gumbo” needs to be removed and algae are growing on the field. The field has mounds in the middle and raised sprinkler heads.

Celek and Celek Construction, Construction Associates Group, and Nimmer Turf Farm Inc., have each worked on the field.
Celek and Celek installed the grass in August 2007.

They graded the field and used erosion-controlled grass.

Construction Associates were instructed to stay away from the grass until it installed an irrigation system.

In the spring of 2008, the School District and Nimmer Turf entered into an independent contract, ending Southern Management Group’s responsibility in overseeing the project.

Nimmer Turf was contracted to sprig the field and fertilize it eight times.

“In our experience, which I think is considerable, that has been a very good regimen to get a surface grown in,” said Don Pressley of Nimmer Turf.

Pressley toured the field last week with Bill Nimmer, who runs the company with his brother, Tony.

Nimmer Turf installed turf better suited for sports, but the company was not contracted to make the field playable.

Pressley said initially the sprigging did not respond and he had to re-sprig. The fertilization was done from May to July.

That was Nimmer Turf’s responsibility. Pressley and Nimmer said the field then needed to be properly maintained, which was not their responsibility.

Pressley said drainage, irrigation, and the mowing of the field was the school district’s responsibility. He said the topic of the field not being properly mowed was “repeatedly brought up.”

Walter Seabrooks, the district’s director of facilities and athletics, began working for the district on July 1.

He said he knew the field was supposed to be maintained by the school district but he said by the time he arrived, “the damage was done.”

“My expertise level is not along those lines, but my visual was we had some issues on the field,” Seabrooks said.

Why is the field still in poor shape?

The biggest culprit is the soil.

“The soil here is predominately gumbo clay, which is not really good,” Pressley said.

Pressley and Nimmer recommend using the drill and fill aerification method and top dressing. Chunks of soil would be pulled out of the field and sand would fill the holes.

This process allows oxygen to reach the soil and the sand helps the soil retain air space. This would also even out the field’s bumps.

They also recommend contacting the Clemson University turf grass department which would give a non-biased recommendation.

“You’re dealing with a sick patient here,” Nimmer said.
But can the field by fixed by this football season?

Pressley and Nimmer think it can.

“Absolutely it can be done,” Pressley said.

Nimmer suggested contracting the work to someone who will have “complete and total control over everything.”

And Pressley said the field must be diligently maintained.
“You can’t manage a sports surface the same as you do a lawn,” he said. “It needs intense, specialized maintenance.”