Repairs to sports fields at two West Deer parks damaged when three teenagers did donuts on them with a pickup last year should be completed soon, Township Manager Dan Mator said Tuesday.

Mator said the repairs to Nike Site Park, located off Route 910, began Thursday, a day after the township supervisors approved hiring Hollibaugh Landscaping to do the work. Work at Bairdford Park will begin next week.

“My guess is that it should be all done within two weeks,” Mator said of the repairs, which include flipping damaged sod, filling damage with mushroom manure and topsoil, and re-seeding damaged areas with grass. “Of course, it will take much longer for the grass to germinate and the root systems to truly take hold.”

Supervisors voted 3-1 to hire Hollibaugh for nearly $20,000 during a Zoom meeting on Wednesday . The meeting was held via Zoom because of the coronavirus.

Penn Landscape and Cement Work and Esken Landscaping also submitted bids, but Hollibaugh was the lowest, Mator said.

Supervisors Arlind Karpuzi, Brandon Forbes and Beverly Jordan voted in favor of the hire. Supervisor Shirley Hollibaugh abstained. Supervisor Shawn Maudhuit was absent.

Police said images found online helped them identify the suspects, who were charged with criminal mischief in December.

“It’s very upsetting,” said Karpuzi, supervisors chairman. “I think that we are just working through this legal process to ensure that justice is had.”

Online court dockets show the summary trials for Ethan Adamiak, Devin Andrew Colucci and Dalton James Shoop, all 19, are set to take place in May. They were originally scheduled for January, but were postponed until March because the township wanted time to get bids from contractors to repair the damaged fields. They were postponed again in March because of the coronavirus.

Police Chief Jon Lape previously told the Tribune-Review that charges against the teens could be upgraded to more serious misdemeanor or felony charges based on how much the repairs cost. Lape said Tuesday that won’t be determined until the summary trials take place.

Details about who will pay for the damages is still being worked out, officials said.

“Who pays is up to District Magistrate (Tom) Swan when that hearing is held,” Mator said. “Right now, the taxpayers of West Deer Township are paying for the vandalism, and we are seeking full restitution.”

Lape said Colucci was the driver of the pickup that was used to damage the fields, while Adamiak and Shoop were passengers. According to Lape, Colucci drove the pickup around in circles on the soccer and lacrosse fields at Nike Site Park and the soccer field, outer lawn and parking area of the baseball field at Bairdford Park.

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