Apr. 17—Delaware Academy and Central School District at Delhi residents easily approved a $3.1 million project that will improve athletic fields at the campus.

The improvements include replacing the grass football field at Dave Kelly field with a multi-purpose artificial turf field and replacing the track and reconfiguring some of the field events, including the long jump, around the field. LED lighting would also be added to the field. A softball field/soccer field will be built at the lower field.

Residents approved the project 479 to 229. Voters rejected a more expensive proposition in October by 16 votes.

In February, the school district’s board of education accepted a donation of an artificial turf field from Clark Companies of Delhi, a Daily Star archive article said. The company is also donating all the field maintenance for 14 years and will remove the field and recycle the materials at the end of the field’s useful life.

“We are grateful to our community for their continued support of our schools, students, and families,” School Superintendent Kelly Zimmerman said in an email. “The success of this project vote will incorporate the generous donation of a new multipurpose field from the Clark Family. We live in a truly amazing community.”

Zimmerman said the next steps for the district would be to work with the district’s “construction management firm and architects to complete all necessary submissions to the NYS Education Department for project approval.”

The firm and architects are also working on the plans for a project that was approved in October. Plans are to create a new technology and agriculture innovation lab, upgrade the music department, include new HVAC controls in all the buildings, add a new bus lift in the transportation garage, pave the parking lots, repair sidewalks and steps, replace the boiler and improve safety and security in the buildings.

Zimmerman said once the plans are submitted to the state Education Department for review, it could take six to 10 months before they are approved by the state.

“In the meantime, we’ll be working to finalize the design plans for the project,” she said.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.