US$4.3 million UCA contract confirmed

2021-12-13 22:47:51 By : Mr. Johnson Ye

The board of directors of the University of Central Arkansas unanimously approved a contract worth more than $4.3 million at a special meeting on Thursday for a range of uses-including artificial turf, safety locks, and technical work.

UCA President Houston Davis said that in order for contract work to begin in early July, a meeting is necessary.

According to the policy of the board of directors, the administration must seek the approval of the board of directors for any contract exceeding US$250,000 or any contract with a duration of more than one year.

The $940,000 contract with GeoSurfaces Inc. will replace the 11-year-old artificial turf on university softball fields, football fields, and baseball fields.

"This should start in early July," Davis said. "This is one of the main reasons why we are holding this meeting now is to allow them to start, especially on the football field, to prepare for preseason practice."

UCA trustee Terry Fiddler asked how long these oil fields are expected to last before they need to be replaced.

UCA Sports Director Brad Teague (Brad Teague) said that the life of artificial turf is about 10 years.

"For security reasons, it's time to update them. We fully hope that with the new technology, these can now be done 10 times or more," Teague said. "As we pointed out, 11 years ago, the cost of maintaining natural grass was actually higher than the initial cost of laying artificial turf."

The violin picked up the iconic purple and gray stripes of the football field and asked whether the new turf maintained its appearance.

"This is correct," Teague said. "That is our brand. Stripes are football, and we hope everyone is afraid of stripes."

The $3 million contract approved by the board of directors with Transact Inc. (formerly Blackboard) is a renewal of an existing agreement that provides and installs card access for doors and entrance passages.

The additional fees are required to replace the university’s last old card access control system and expand access to campus renovations, new constructions, and other areas.

Davis said this will allow all the university buildings to continue to be transferred to the same card in the next five years.

The board of directors also approved a $453,000 contract with Norlem Technology Consulting and a $2,500 contract with the US Internet Number Registry.

Norlem Technology will be used to update the university's main firewall. Davis said that the life of the current firewall will end in the next six months.

"This is a five-year contract. Another benefit of holding the meeting today is that if we complete this work and get the Legislative Council to approve it from July, this fee will actually be reduced by another around $40,000," Dai Weiss said. "This agreement will only reduce some."

The five-year contract with the Internet Number Registry of the United States is to renew the registration of the university’s IP address.

"This is the only company that does this nationwide," Davis said.

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