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The Tomah School Board approved a project to build seven new tennis courts at LaGrange Elementary School last month, contingent on a favorable Geotech soil testing report.

Tomah School District Business Manager Greg Gaarder told the board on Thursday that the testing report had been completed, and it only slightly revised the cost of the project.

The new cost, Gaarder reported, is $267,401, up $19,000 from the original estimated cost of $248,000. The board voted 7-0 on May 19 to move forward with the project for seven new competition courts at LaGrange, and rejected a proposal for renovating the tennis courts at Tomah High School for $362,000. Soil conditions at the high school would have required five feet of excavation and removal of the lights. The board also deferred a decision on a less expensive fix for the existing high school courts. It would either replace the existing waffle board courts, a $120,000 project, or install a layer of blacktop, with a roughly estimated price of $160,000. Another $50,000 would be needed to landscape existing green space.

The new tennis courts at LaGrange will not include lights, which would add another $320,000 to the project. After the completion of the Geotech soil testing, Mathy Construction added recommended steps to the project to ensure a better life span for the tennis courts. Gaarder said that such recommendations include taking off the first foot of top soil, and removing and returning nearly three feet of compacted sand material under top soil. Gaarder also told the board that Mathy is in the process of obtaining necessary permits for the project, and that work may begin the middle of this summer.

“We hope to begin construction in July,” Gaarder said. “And we hope to have it done by September 1.”