FieldTurf to be installed on McCormack Field, By Patricia Keller West Milford The West Milford Board of Education voted Tuesday night in favor of constructing a synthetic turf field at West Milford high School’s McCormack Field. The tally was 6-1, with Trustee James Foody against the measure. Trustees John Aiello and Tim Foley were not present at this meeting. The township council followed suit by unanimously voting for the agreement on Wednesday night. According to the agreement, the West Milford Township Council will fund the installation of the synthetic turf through an agreement made with a third party developer, and the township and board of education will share future costs equally, which will include maintenance, repair, and the eventual replacement of the turf which is guaranteed for eight years. The board and the township’s Department of Community Services and Recreation will agree upon scheduling for shared use of the field to benefit the community. The location of the turf field was chosen by the council because of the amenities it already has, including bleachers, lights, fencing, restrooms, and parking. The council approached the school board with the proposal because restrictions on development would make it impossible to build the field on the newly acquired 100-acre Random Woods property as was intended. Installing the field was part of the agreement with the seller of the property. Licensed professional engineer Phil Pirro, whose company installs both natural and synthetic fields, helped to work out the agreement through providing information about the product to the school board and township council. He is hopeful that his company will be considered to install the synthetic turf, but other companies will also be considered. Pirro was asked by board of education President Dave Richards to answer questions about the product from both the trustees and public. Maintenance costs Foody questioned the required maintenance, costs, and life expectancy of the proposed synthetic field. He said he was concerned about the “unexpected soft costs” this field will present to the board. Pirro said that during the eight-year warranty period, which is a third party warranty to protect the consumer from companies going out of business, all repairs are free of charge and usually completed within 24 hours. The field surface to be installed is a college-grade field which is better quality and more durable than other typical high school field surfaces. Weekly maintenance is required to rake up seeds, leaves, garbage wrappers and the like, Pirro said. Machinery to perform this maintenance is included in the cost of the field installation. Every six months a deep grooming maintenance is necessary to be done by a professional company to re-work and fluff-up the rubber to reduce wear of common use sites. Regular professional maintenance can extend the life of the synthetic field by two to four years. The cost of this bi-annual service is about $4,000 to $5,000 per year. It is estimated that a typical natural grass field costs more than $20,000 per year to maintain including the costs for seed, fertilizer, pesticide/herbicide, watering, mowing, line painting and regular and overtime labor costs necessary for public use. Excessive heat no longer a concern Foody cited a 2008 article from the New York Daily News about artificial turf installed in city fields heating up to 162 degrees on an 80 degree day. Pirro said it was the older turf products that contained lead and heated up; the newer turf products, such as Field Turf that his company regularly installs and maintains, have not exceeded temperatures of 120 degrees on very hot days. He suggested cooling the turf with water if needed for use on the hottest of summer days if the field is in use for a summer program. Pirro added most sports that use the turf fields play in fall, winter and early spring where warmer surface temperatures are welcomed and the turf assists with snowy and wet conditions, as it is designed to take up to 7 inches of rainfall at once. Pirro said that Field Turf products are now used in many college and National Football League fields. What about the old field? And what about the topsoil on the existing field? Foody brought up remediation issues they will have with the topsoil that is removed from the field. Pirro said top soil is valuable and that it could be used at other district fields. Cea said the field behind the high school needs work and it was intended to be put there. Trustee Greg Bailey said “topsoil needs to be screened and processed-it will cost money; you can’t just put it in a pile.” He said many companies call him and his family’s paving company to get rid of unwanted topsoil and fill. “I have a home for the topsoil if need be.” “This went from being a free field to spending money screening topsoil and such [It] has led to other things,” said Foody. “I will not give away top soil to anyone. This town voted down the budget and I will not support this.” It is estimated that the field can be completed by September, 2010. If all goes as planned, it will be necessary for two football home games to be displaced due to the construction, but the board of education feels this will be a positive move for the township as a whole, with this field providing greater opportunities for athletics in the community.
Is it safe?
According to the FieldTurf Web site, 21 of 32 NFL teams use FieldTurf. They cite an independent, three-year study of competitive college football teams and showed that when compared to natural grass, the FieldTurf system leads to:
74% Fewer Muscle Tears
42% Lower ACL Trauma
32% Fewer Ligament Tears
22% Fewer Severe Injuries
19% Fewer Substantial Injuries
12% Fewer Concussions
10% Less Injury From Shoe Surface Interaction during Contact
8% Less Injury From Shoe Surface Interaction during Non-Contact
7% Fewer Total Injuries
An independent, five-year safety study of high schools showed the following comparing FieldTurf to natural grass:
55% Fewer Neural Injuries
47% Fewer Cranial / Cervical Injuries
38% Fewer 3rd Degree Injuries
45% Less Time Lost to Long-Term Injuries (22+ Days)
35% Less Time Lost to Short-Term Injuries (1-2 Days)