The Trouble With Artificial Turf

Hey everybody, rabble rouser Brian Kelly here. At Haddonfield United, we get information from residents around town concerning important issues constantly.

To give everyone an idea of how detailed, well researched and passionate our followers are, check out this letter below from a citizen with serious concerns about just of the one the divisive issues facing us...the battle over artificial turf.   

People reading the Patch know how I feel. Our student athletes are playing on atrocious fields that have been neglected. We could provide fields of lush, green grass, but I digress.

Read the letter below and see if you share the concerns of your fellow citizen. If not voice your opinion.

BTW the turf committee says they have raised the $500K and that the installation will start after football season.  I am realizing many people think that Stadium and Anniversary fields won't be turfed unless the referendum passes. They need to understand that $500K of public money has ALREADY been promised independent of the referendum and they won't get any vote on that! Steve Weinstein made this very confusing--no one gets it.                                                                                                                                                                The main donor for the turf told a neighbor turf cannot go on Crows Woods fields because those are unsafe because of landfill, and kids should not be playing on them!  If they are unsafe, why isn't the borough remediating them instead of paying for turf?  If they aren't, why are these turf people using a scare tactic about Crowes Woods?  Anyway, Anniversary Field is also on landfill. The Haddonfieldturf website now claims that an environmental study was done but nothing is posted--I doubt they did anything! I spoke with the Office of Facilities at the state Dept of Education. When I told him of concerns about the minimum storm drainage capacity in the proposed Stadium/Anniversary turf estimates, he replied that they'd need a retention pond.  I told him they don't have land for that. Regardless, he said it is up to local officials to determine whether proposed storm drainage is adequate when the permit is issued. If the minimal installation is approved then the fields will flood in anything heavier than the average worst annual storm.  I guess Hopkins Pond will become the retention pond!                                                                                                                                                                                                In contrast, a neighbor had to build 100-yr  storm capacity for approval of a small project on their lot in town!  Brian, do you want to look into requirements for stormwater management and verify?  It would be a great comparison for people to understand what is going on--that a residence needs 100-yr storm capacity but these huge fields can get away with only 1-yr storm capacity.  This would be an important thing to post if it is true.The state DOE Office of Facilities Director is Bernie Paella. His office reviews the building projects and land acquisitions proposed by districts.  His office does not have the capacity to review appraisals.  He said, "we try to make sure districts have done due diligence on land acquisitions: we flag things that we see might be issues (stormwater runoff, stream encroachment, historic and archeological sites, Green Acres, adequate water and sewer capacity), but we can't keep them from doing anything silly."                                                                                                          The law gives local districts wide powers. The related DOE administrative code is 6A:26 Subchapter 7. I described the zoning history and institutional use for the appraisal. He said that was ok because "highest and best use" for appraised value is designed to protect property owners against being underpaid in government acquisitions. So, no protections for taxpayers from government overpayment... He mentioned the zoning could be changed. He said educational use would have resulted in a lower value than institutional use.The DOE does send DEP the land acquisition proposals for review and DEP informs as to required permits within 45 days.  He said the required environmental due diligence work is only "Level 1" (I don't know what that encompasses) to keep costs to districts down, but that does mean some environmental problems may go unidentified.                                                                                                                                               He said some districts have encountered problems with sites that caused them to issue more bonds (he mentioned Monroe Township had Green Acres issues; and Upper Freehold nearly bought a contaminated site; good cautionary tales?).  He did say the BOE could NOT indemnify Bancroft for environmental issues after the acquisition. I don't know if the same applies to municipal acquisition using grants--there were questions about underground tanks in the grant applications.                                                                                                                                Local planning boards have 55 days to review and respond to district proposals. A vote of 2 commissioners can override the PB and the public.  The public can file an OPRA request online at the DOE for the project applications for both the turf on existing fields and for the land acquisition. DOE will reply within a week.                                                                                                                              There is a DOE Office of Fiscal Compliance and Accountability. Its Compliance Unit will investigate violations of DOE regulations or state laws after they have happened.  The Director is Robert Cicchino (609-984-5593). He is out of the office this week.   The Executive County Superintendent is Peggy Niccoloci, phone 856-401-2400. The county somehow sees the referendum documents but I am not sure in what capacity. This position is filled with a person proposed by the governor and approved by state legislature. So it is a political position...   Finally, Bernie suggested the state Department of Community Affairs for complaints involving municipalities.