Artificial Turf vs. Grass Debated at Haddonfield BOE Meeting
Engineers, coaches and parents talk about benefits and burdens of artificial turf.
Photos
The Haddonfield Board of Education on Thursday heard an in-depth presentation about the nature, composition and costs of artificial-turf athletic fields.
The turf project has been a lightning rod for objections over a $16.9 million plan for a public purchase of the 18.7-acre Bancroft property adjacent to the high school. Public opinion in three meetings on the purchase in July was generally supportive of the plan, which would acquire the property for current and future school use and to preserve open space.
A sticking point was over the inclusion of funds to resurface the high school football stadium with artificial turf and to construct a new artificial turf field there. Some supporters of the public purchase have said they would not support the initiative if the field component remains in it.
A public referendum on the Bancroft purchase is scheduled in January.
School board President Steve Weinstein said Thursday's meeting was just a discussion. There are hurdles to consider, especially those related to the Bancroft project, which is in the early stages of formation, he said.
“If the bond measure goes forward—if, if, if and so on. We don’t have all those answers right now, which is why we’re having this discussion,” he said.
High school Athletic Director Lefteris Banos provided a color-coded schedule of the where, when and how students use all the various grass sports fields in Haddonfield. Rain, mud, sinkholes, tree roots and just the overwhelming number of Haddonfield students participating in athletics were some of the factors he cited in favor of turf.
“Haddonfield is a Group 2 school, but has about the number of student athletes that a Group 4 school has,” Banos said. The schedules he showed gave a snapshot of current problems in having enough available field space. In the spring, for instance, the Haddonfield lacrosse team can’t start practice on the high school field until 7 p.m. Practice then goes until 9 p.m.
Grass fields, Banos added, aren’t grass after a rainy day, or after football practice. "They’re dirt."
Other coaches cited the number of injuries and ailments students get from playing on grass. Frank DeLano, teacher and football coach, said one area of the football field is so bad, they don’t run plays in that section.
Doug Hopper and Frank Seney, of Remington & Vernick Engineers, opened with a PowerPoint presentation addressing everything from the type of materials used in turf fields to balancing maintenance costs of turf as opposed to grass fields and a consideration of environmental and safety issues.
Hopper noted the widespread and accepted use of turf fields across the country. Turf isn’t just for professional sports teams anymore, nor has it been for some time. Haddonfield, according to some school officials, is behind the curve on this issue.
“Haddonfield should not have the ‘worst’ anything. Our fields are an embarrassment,” girls' soccer coach Glenn Gess said.
Maintenance of the turf field is not just a matter of mow, blow and go. “Maintenance numbers are all over the board. A [turf field] salesman would tell you to do the maintenance every day,” Hopper said.
The equipment and products specifically used to clean turf include an industrial size vacuum and products to remove “bodily fluids.” One member of the audience said “I’m concerned about kids playing on a plastic surface that’s been treated by chemicals.”
Hidden costs, environmental issues, safety and the increased heat that comes with turf were discussed were key concerns raised during public comment.
Mary Fagan, a borough resident, said she had concerns about the turf field’s lack of warranty protection for acts of God and vandalism, a point which Hopper had listed in his analysis. Fagan said, “I have concerns about the costs for fencing, tree removal and the drainage which could overwhelm the environment.” Residents asked about the chemicals that could lurk, linger or emanate from turf fields.
One other point in the debate has to do with high school athletes having to go to sports fields all across Haddonfield—whether it’s the field at Crows Woods or Radnor Field. Either the students walk or they pile into parents' and friends' cars. Sometimes those caravans exceed the passenger capacity the car was meant to hold.
Lisa Keeley-Cain said, after sending her two sons to St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, she thought it would be so much more convenient when her daughter began playing Haddonfield sports.
“Boy, was I wrong,” Keeley-Cain said. One driver, she said, transported 12 kids to practice in one car and in one trip. “If parents of kindergartners knew about this, I think they’d be happy to support the turf fields," she said.
Kathi Boggs-Shaner
8:31 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
There's a link to an interesting article on Haddonfield United (on facebook) regarding the dangers of artificial turf. "Heat exhaustion, heat stroke and extreme dehydration;
Burns and heat blisters, even blistering through shoes; and Off-gassing of dangerous vapors from carbon black, lead, mercury and an array of other toxins. As fields heat, noxious materials can be absorbed in gases that can become 10 to 20 times more toxic than the materials themselves." Worth checking out the link for additional information!
Pro-Haddonfield
3:11 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
Turf fields have been around for many years. My kids have played on them at other schools for many years. I've coached on these fields. I've never been the victim of noxious fumes, blisters or even blisters through my shoes. Either have my children. If this is such a problem why hasn't the FDA or EPA shut down thousands of field across America? Grasping at straws people. Look please at the benefit to our children. Lefty spelled it out in black and white. We need to be able to better use the field space we have. We aren't going to find it anywhere else. This is the last opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for our children and provide them the facilities they deserve. Our tax dollars build fantastic facilities across Camden County but we don't deserve the same? Keep in mind that Bancroft isn't going to only benefit student athletes. There is huge potential for varied use to benefit all school students and the adult community. Let's look at the big picture and the future of our town.
Jeff H
10:12 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
ARE WE OK WITH OVERPAYING FOR THE PROPERTY TO THE TUNES OF $$ MILLIONS? IS TURF THE ONLY ISSUE HERE? AMAZING THAT OVERPAYING FOR THE PROPERTY HASN'T RECEIVED MORE ATTENTION.
Taxpayer
11:29 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
See the R&V presentation on the BOE website. Landtek's initial estimate for the turf committee evidently was a lowball by close to $150K for just the stadium field. R&V didn't present an estimate for the Anniversary Field installation--so is the borough going ahead with turf there based on another obvious lowball? The replacement cost presented by R&V did not even include Anniversary Field replacement costs, but replacement there will be the district's responsibility. So add that cost to the annual school expenses. Then factor in the additional annual replacement and maintenance costs if a third turf field is put in on the Bancroft property. Let's not forget the costs of insuring all of this turf against damage excluded by the warranty like vandalism, flooding, inadequate maintenance, etc. The school buildings are falling apart, the district can't afford buses, but they can afford all this? Why don't kids just ride bikes and why doesn't the borough's disputed sidewalk money go instead towards bike lanes? And why can't the district budget more towards natural grass maintenance instead, if they think they can afford to pay for turf maintenance and replacement? And maybe even put a limit as to how many field sports any given kid should participate in?
Brian Kelly
12:44 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
One sure way to defeat the Bancroft initiative is to include turf in the deal. For every reason Remmington & Vernick gives you for turf installation I can give you five against it and will continue to do through social media and one on one interaction.
This not a popular issue with the majority of Haddonfield. However, what shouldn't be lost in all of this is the issue of safe playing fields for our student athletes. I can see why some of the parents would want turf if they think it's safer than the existing fields. One thing to remember is this. There's no way playing on plastic is safer than a field of lush green grass.
This is not a difficult thing to achieve. Using Radnor field field for an example, I've inspected the field daily for the past two summers. During that time, it hasn't been aerated or thatched and the sprinkler system is in poor working order. During this hot summer in the few areas the sprinkler worked the grass was thick and lush, the remaining field was burnt grass. The undergrowth was shot so it means weed growth and a compromised field. The goal areas for the girl's hockey team are already dirt. If the field is worked on in the spring, applied with deep rooted seed and properly watered in the summer they'd now be playing on a safe field of green grass. There are many companies specializing in natural grass maintenance. For the thousands spent on permanent stands at Centennial Field, we could have a field of thick natural grass there.
Brian Kelly
12:56 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
Another way to maintain the fields in through volunteer work and fund raising devoted to the safe natural fields for our student athletes. Community cooperation and residents of the town working together always represents the best of Haddonfield.
If the Commissioners are interested in starting a volunteer and funding drive devoted to giving our kids the best in safe playing conditions Haddonfield United would be honored to volunteer with the work and would donate the first 500 dollars to the fund.
Personally, I think a field of thick beautiful green grass looks better than artificial turf anyway.
Pro-Haddonfield
7:46 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
We spend thousands through fundraising to maintain centennial and it never takes due to overuse. The stands were a replacement for the deteriorated unsafe "step seats" that were removed years ago. Finally there is safe way to get down the hill. We need fields that can be used morning to night that won't get beat up and to relieve the other grass fields of overuse. One requirement to maintaining grass fields is adequate rest and growth periods. A turf field or fields will allow that.
Brian Kelly
9:34 am on Saturday, September 15, 2012
As I live a block from Centennial and walk by it everyday, I've observed it has more than enough rest and growth period. All you have to do is look at the little league field to see what working it in the spring and continuing upkeep does. The fields are in great shape. I believe there is a company named DVH that works on the field. If memory serves correctly, they have a company sign outside the left field fence on the upper field. You must remember that, like anything, natural turf nowadays is a science and the seed used for sports fields are bio engineered and are made to adapt to any cycle. As someone who worked for years in landscaping even the old fashioned methods work superbly if properly maintained.
You're right about the hill. As someone who slipped and fell on their butt trying to navigate it one time it needed to be addressed. To get to the field you had to walk almost to the end of the block. I believe a scaled down version of the project would have been more than sufficient. I was talking to the contractor while they were cutting down one the oldest trees on the block and there was still a lot of life left in it. They could have left the tree and modified the plans in a less costly way with enough money left over for the field. I think that would have been a fine balance between preserving our beautiful trees and addressing all the issues of safety, not only for our kids but for the spectators as well.
Brian Kelly
3:27 pm on Saturday, September 15, 2012
I think another plus for Haddonfield sports are the fields located throughout the town. Some of them need work but they seem to do a nice job rotating the fields by Crows Woods. There are at least six fields in town, not including the fields around the schools. With some smart planning and diligence when it comes to maintenance Haddonfield is in good shape when it comes to athletics.
Brian Kelly
10:17 am on Sunday, September 16, 2012
As there have been sensible questions asked about FDA and EPA regulation of artificial turf, it's important to know there are other agencies out of Washington dealing with the issues of artificial turf. The advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility recently issued a petition to the Consumer Product Safety Commission to provide guidelines to protect students from overheated turf fields and playgrounds. Their report cites cases of heat stroke, heat exhaustion, dehydration, burns and blisters, and how the materials used such as shredded tire and plastics can emit dangerous vapors. The group called on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt heat regulations and classify playgrounds and sports fields as "Children's Products" so it will fall under lead limits.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission previously issued a fact sheet on playground burns made from plastics and rubbers.
There are many articles throughout the Haddonfield United facebook page that document the various issues of artificial turf. One of them is about a town that turfed, was unhappy with it and reports the difficulties and cost they encountered trying to remove it. Hopefully these articles are helpful to people on both sides of the fence.