By Ward Peck
Editor
    Responding to criticism about miscommunication regarding the town’s turf field project, Town Manager Michael McGovern invited interested parties to a meeting at town hall last week intended to allow people to air grievances and address concerns.
    Much of that criticism has come from members of the town’s School Board who have felt left out of what they consider important policy decisions which should be under their purview.
    Troubling for several board members was how, when and by whom a decision was made to stitch permanent lines on the artificial turf surface that some saw as favoring boys’ sports over girls’ sports.
    The field is intended to be used by six sports teams– boys’ and girls’ lacrosse in the spring and football, field hockey and boys’ and girls soccer in the fall, but the permanent stitched lines installed on the field will be applicable to three of those sports– football, boys’ lacrosse and soccer. While girls’ soccer uses the same markers as boys and girls have been known to play football, school board members felt the decision revealed a bias toward boys.
    Michael Ott, who helped lead the fundraising effort to purchase and install the field through a group called Kids’ Turf said that there was no such basis and the decision was made after much study and consultation and based upon practical, not gender issues.
    Ott told the group gathered at the meeting that Kids’ Turf, at the beginning wanted permanent lines for all five sports, but was warned away by vendors and others with experience in the turf technology who advised ordering permanent lines for no more than three sports.
    Ott said there are two main reasons for this advice. The first was what he referred to as “line creep.” Having too many sets of lines on a field tends to confuse and disorient players. The other reason was cost. Ott said the more lines used increase the odds that any section of those stitched lines will tear and require replacement, which can be costly.
    According to Ott, as the fundraising effort got underway, the issue of lines was in danger of becoming moot, as the fundraising seemed to stall. In order to deliver a field in a reasonable time, the group decided it could save money by ordering field without stitched lines.
    By early 2007 Kids’ Turf had received enough donations to consider ordering a field with permanent lines. Ott said a member of the Kids’ Turf group, Bill Homa had surveyed more than 100 turf field configurations in order to determine the best pay to employ permanent lines on the field. By February, in consultation with town and school staff including athletic director Keith Wetherbie and Community Services Director Sue Wetherbie, Ott said, the decision to go with lines for the three fields was based upon several factors. Lacrosse, football and boys’ soccer are the three sports that wear line markers the most intensely and would therefore require the most touch-up work if the lines were to be painted. Another factor including the decision, according to Ott was the knowledge that both field hockey and girls’ lacrosse have seen rules affecting the placement of lines have changed in the recent past and a suspicion that one or both may change their rules again. Ott described the process of replacing the lines as labor-intensive and costly.
    The decision was made to use a special paint for the field hockey and girls’ lacrosse lines that intentionally disintegrates and disappears by the next season’s play.
    At last week’s meeting, McGovern distributed a booklet containing emails outlining this decision-making process and said that while the decisions may not have been communicated effectively, the process was far from secretive. McGovern rejected the accusation that the permanent line issue was indicative of a more systemic communication problem involving the project. He described the permanent line issue as an isolated case of poor communication.
    Several people attending the meeting felt otherwise and felt the town committee set up to steer the project had not been properly used. That committee was originally to include representatives of the town council and school board, however after the November 2006 election, three of the four elected officials on the committee no longer held elected office.
    McGovern said those officials were never replaced because by the time the new elected bodies took office, the work of the turf committee had largely been accomplished.
    That committee may get new life as the town and the Kids’ Turf group contemplate the next phase of the project: installing bleachers, a concession stand and a coaches box, among other improvements under consideration.
    The bleacher project suffered a setback after the school board and town council failed to support McGovern’s proposal to use $150,000 in public money toward the project.
    Kids’ Turf member and Spurwink Woods developer Jim McFarlane described for those at the meeting a concept for a 1,800 square-foot concession stand and bathroom facility at the complex. McFarlane said he and other members of the organization have already conducted significant research into the project, but now need direction and feedback from town and school officials before proceeding. It is unclear how the facility would be financed.
    While the turf field has been described as having a minimal impact on town resources, several councilors and school board members have noted the increasing public cost of the facility.
    So far, the town and school have budgeted $64,000 toward the cost of the eventual replacement of the field, with future combined annual installments of $14,000.
    The town will also purchase a $30,000 fence to place around the field, to be paid for out of a bond proposal currently before town council. The town has contracted the turf field vendor to sanitize the artificial surface twice a year for $5,900 and will purchase special equipment to maintain the field, including special paint. While some of these costs will be recovered by saving money on maintaining the previous natural surface, maintenance costs are expected to exceed those savings.
    In addition, the school’s athletic department will see increases for the purchase of equipment for the field and the school board recently cut several thousand dollars out of the athletic budget for police security during night games.
    Athletic Director Weatherbie and Police Chief Neil Williams have recommended four off-duty police officers be contracted to provide security at night football games. At an earlier budget workshop Williams expressed concern about providing effective crowd control at such games– even with four officers. Because the location and set up of the field– near trails and woods open from all directions– prevents effective access control and the strong possibility that some of the spectators may show up inebriated to weekend night games, maintaining safety and order might prove challenging.
    Without money for the security in the school budget, it is unclear how the officers will be paid. Ideas about charging parking fees may prove problematic as such a system may encourage spectators to find parking in nearby neighborhoods– angering residents and exacerbating crowd control issues.
    Despite these issues, work on the field continues and, depending on the weather, the likelihood that fans will be cheering Caper lacrosse players– both boys and girls– at the new field later this spring.