Sinkhole May Cost Verona Schools $30,000

The Verona School District may have to spend as much as $30,000 to repair a sinkhole on the high school football field, a report in the Verona-Cedar Grove Times said Tuesday.

The first Verona home football game is scheduled for Sept. 22, but the newspaper says district officials are already making contingency plans to schedule five home football games and a multi-district marching band festival to the high school’s lower field.

The Times report, citing district officials, said the field would require $25,000 worth of adjustments to make it suitable for football and the marching band competition. That figure includes the rental of bleachers, portable bathrooms, a press box and goal posts, in addition to the relocation of the school's scoreboard, the Times report said.

District officials said a well that emerged on the field during a football practice was properly filled in, capped and buried.

For the past few days, the engineering firm French and Parrello Associates have been conducting a geotechnical study of the field using ground-penetrating radar to discover any remaining anomalies. The council has received a preliminary report identifying some areas of concern.

The paper said the test results could be available as soon as tomorrow.
“Once we know what we are dealing with then comes the remediation phase,” said board member Glenn Elliott.

Another option the district is considering is using Centennial Field at the Verona Community Center.

But district officials tell the Times moving games there would cause a disruption to other community groups.