Subcommittee Recommends Turf Project Move Forward
July 2, 2009 by John Rook
The subcommittee charged with researching the viability of installing a new synthetic turf field at the Maclary Athletic Complex behind Cheshire High School will recommend that the Town move forward with the project, officials confirmed last week.
The Board of Education Artificial Turf Subcommittee agreed on Monday, June 22, to develop a detailed presentation for the Board of Education, suggesting that the installation of a new turf field would be a positive for Cheshire in the future.
If the subcommittee receives approval from the Board, it will then make the same recommendation to the Town Council, which will ultimately decide whether to proceed.
Subcommittee Chairman and Board member Bob Behrer stated that the group had looked at all aspects of installing turf, including environmental and health issues along with cost projections, and feel comfortable recommending the Board move the process forward.
“There are a lot of things being done for the Town right now — a lot of beautification projects moving forward — and this would be one of them,” said Behrer. “I consider this to be a quality of life issue and an infrastructure issue.”
In January of 2008, the Town was informed that the Connecticut State Legislature, at the urging of State Rep. Mary Fritz (D-Cheshire/Wallingford), had set aside $525,000 for the Town to make improvements to the athletic complex.
In July of last year, after several months of debate, the Town Council voted to accept the grant and approved the formation of the subcommittee to explore all aspects of the turf installation.
Accepting the money did not lock the Town into having to move forward with the project and the newly formed subcommittee was asked to conduct its research and present its findings at a later date.
Through the course of the fall last year and winter this year, the subcommittee, comprised of members of the Board of Education, school district administration, athletic department, and general public, researched different studies conducted on the safety of the new fields, invited developers, engineers, and medical personnel in to speak to the group, and debated issues that had been brought up by the general public.
At their last meeting, the subcommittee decided it was time to present its findings.
“The amount of use we could get out of this investment is unlimited,” said Cheshire High School Athletic Director Steve Trifone, who is a member of the subcommittee.
Trifone suggested that currently 90 events are held on the grass field behind CHS per year — more than the 35 to 40 events recommended for such surfaces. However, that number would be dwarfed by the amount of events that could be held on a new turf field, Trifone insisted.
“We could easily bring that number up to 200 events or more with the turf,” said Trifone. “We could probably reach into 300 events per year.”
More practices would be held during the day and early evening hours and sporting events that normally would have to be postponed or cancelled due to inclement weather now would be able to be played, he insisted.
“I try and tell people that this would not be just a football field,” said Trifone. “It would be a general purpose field. You could still have graduation on the field, you could still have Relay For Life on the field, and you could even have car shows there as well.”
However, cost remains one of the major sticking points of moving forward with the installation of the turf.
The state grant would potentially cover only a portion of the costs associated with putting in a new turf field. Estimates have ranged over the course of the last year, with some suggesting that such a project could ultimately cost more than $1 million to complete.
Behrer did not offer any specifics as to what the subcommittee believes will be the ultimate price tag, but he did suggest that there was a “range” of prices being reviewed.
Also, Behrer suggested that prices may have dropped over the last several months, as the economy has continued to flounder and companies look for new clients, however, he did admit that the subcommittee had not investigated the matter as of yet.
Either way, the subcommittee will recommend that the extra costs not covered by the grant be raised from “private” funds and donations.
“The $525,000 will be the major portion used,” said Behrer.
The subcommittee hopes to have a presentation ready for the Board by September, Behrer stated.