The Mercer Island School Board has gratefully approved plans to resurface the athletic field at South Mercer Playfield.

City officials brought their proposal, complete with full funding plans, to the school board meeting last Thursday night. Approval from the school board was the last step before construction begins, likely this June, to be completed in September.

The city plans to replace the dusty surface with artificial turf, and also to replace the eight lights on the field with four lights that are better directed to the fields, reducing light pollution in the neighborhood.

The field is one of three lighted fields on the Island, offering 3,670 potential hours of use each year, but this year the field was scheduled for only 914 hours because it is in such poor condition, according to information provided by Curt Brees, operations manager for Parks and Rec, and Pete Mayer, assistant city manager and Parks and Rec director.

The cost of almost $1 million will be recovered through the fees different groups pay to use the field, according to Brees.

I’m grateful that my grandchildren will be playing on this new field,” said Pat Braman, a school board member. “I’m also glad to hear as someone who lives in that neighborhood that some of the lighting will be more focused. I think the new lighting will probably be a real benefit.”

The city operates the fields under an interlocal agreement between the city and school district. The district does not pay to use the fields.

The fields, built in 1985, were designed using a composite of sand, clay and rubber, but no longer function in the all-weather way they were designed to, according to background information provided by Brees and Mayer.

The total amount for the project, $976,000, will be funded by the Real Estate Excise Tax revenues, according to Mayer and Brees.

After the City Council approved the project and funding, the school board was asked to approve it under the terms of the interlocal agreement.