ADAMS TWP — The lowest bidder did not get the job to install the artificial turf at the new Mars School District softball fields.

The school board voted 6-1 at a special meeting Wednesday morning to award the contract for turf at one of the two fields being built there.

The contract went to AstroTurf of Solon, Ohio, which submitted the second-lowest bid of $151,509.

District solicitor Tom King said the lowest bidder, ProGrass of Pittsburgh, was rejected because company officials failed to attend prebid meetings and provide turf samples as required by specifications in the bid request.

ProGrass, which submitted a bid of $149,950, is the company that installed the turf at the Mars Athletic Complex in 2006.

Dan Isaac, regional sales manager for AstroTurf, said at Wednesday’s meeting that AstroTurf manufactures its own product using the highest quality materials. He said ProGrass uses a contractor for its turf.

He said AstroTurf will cover about 350 fields in 2016, including work at Penn State University.

Board member William Pettigrew, who attended the meeting via telephone, asked Isaac if his company would guarantee no change orders during the job. A change order is an increase in costs due to unforeseen circumstances during construction or installation.

Isaac replied that if the job remained true to the specifications, there would be no change orders.

Pettigrew, who was the Mars superintendent for 25 years, still voted against awarding the job to AstroTurf because no representatives from the company were involved in planning the fields.

Earth-moving has already begun at the fields. Construction is expected to begin as soon as possible.