An Elyria company was the apparent low bidder for the Ironton High School track-resurfacing project.

Superintendent Dean Nance said when bids were opened last week, All American Track Corporation’s bid of $138,950 was lower than three others bidders.

Hieberger Paving Inc., of Canal Winchester, submitted a bid of $141,880; Precision Sports Surfaces, Inc., of Charlottesville, Va., submitted a bid of $144,867 and Renner Sports Surfaces of Denver, Colo., submitted a bid of $164,354. Nance said the bids were higher than anticipated but he said he feels comfortable with the results.

The school district received a $150,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation to pay for the track improvements. There was one stipulation: the track resurfacing had to be done using recycled rubber.

“The track is in very poor shape,” Nance said. “And it is used a lot. We’re not going to be able to have track meets there much longer if we don’t fix the track.”

The rubber will be installed over top of the track base and then covered with a layer of polyurethane, which will make it more durable.

This particular ODOT grant must be used to install recycled rubber; it can’t be used for the football field turf project, for instance. Grants do not generally have to be paid back unless the money is spent for something other than what was intended.

Nance said the next step is to conduct a scope review of the project with All American Track Corp and make certain both sides are in agreement about what work must be done.

The scope review will be July 25. The board must accept the bid at its July 31 meeting. Nance said he does not yet know how long the project will take but said he hopes to have the track ready for use by next track and field season.