Artificial Turf Details Still in Play
The Sag Harbor School Board is still eyeing a Dec. 14 date for a vote on using money from the district’s capital reserve fund to supplement what officials say is needed for an artificial turf field at Pierson Middle and High School, but it postponed actually setting the date during Tuesday’s meeting after new possibilities emerged.
The board had voted 4-to-3 on Sept. 12 to pursue artificial turf instead of a natural grass field, despite having leaned toward natural grass previously. The debate has been ongoing since March, when a group of parents asserted artificial turf would be harmful to their children’s health and petitioned the district to abandon it. The school board then rejected two bids from businesses interested in building the field, explaining they were hundreds of thousands of dollars over budget.
On Tuesday, Jennifer Buscemi, the district business administrator, introduced the possibility of modifying the plans to install turf with crumb rubber components and instead use a product called cool fill, which is crumb rubber coated with a chemical that keeps the temperature cooler on hot days. Ms. Buscemi said the school’s architects had projected cool fill would be $65,625 more expensive than regular crumb rubber, and some board members seemed interested.
Shortly afterward, Susan Lamontagne, a school board member, asked why $300,000 had been left in the budget for baseball and softball equipment. A field for these sports had been abandoned along the way, but money apparently was left in the budget for a related backstop, fencing, and sideline player benches.
While Eric Bramoff, the athletic director, said some sort of backstop would be needed to prevent balls from flying into neighbors’ yards, suggesting a backstop alone would be less expensive. Chris Tice and Stephanie Bitis, who are board members, suggested the difference could then be used to pay for cool fill, reducing the amount needed from the capital reserve fund, and bringing back some items involving concrete that had been eliminated. They included concrete for mounting bleachers, for a plaza outside the school cafeteria, and for a staircase leading to the middle school gym.
“I would hate to think we’re going to put something out that we don’t think is the right thing,” Ms. Tice said. “I challenge us to make sure if we’re putting out an artificial turf option, let it be the best option available.”
The board ultimately tabled the resolution that would have designated Dec. 14 for the vote on using $300,000 from the district’s capital reserve fund to supplement the $1.62 million originally approved by referendum in 2013. Factoring in the costs of design and engineering and construction contingencies, the total estimated cost of the field is now at about $1.74 million, which is why the reserve money comes into play. The board is not asking the community for new funding; rather, it needs the voters’ permission to spend money it has tucked away in the reserve, which stands at $2.1 million.
The district hopes to break ground on the field next summer. Board members do not expect tabling the referendum until the next meeting, on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., will have a major impact.
The school board did vote Tuesday on a resolution that designates the Sag Harbor School District as the lead agency on the environmental review required under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Ms. Buscemi said because turf was initially in the SEQRA process, which the district went through in late 2013 and 2014, a new review is not needed. The board’s 5-to-1 vote came with a “no” from Ms. Lamontagne, who asserted there were serious problems with the environmental review. According to Ms. Lamontagne and Helen Roussel, a community member, the environmental review apparently states there are no nearby commercial fishing or wetland areas, which they said was inaccurate.
“The knowledge has changed, we have new information, and there is a lot of public interest. . . . The public has the right to know about a SEQRA report that was not done to the standards. . . . I really want to ask you, please have that process restarted, Ms. Roussel said.