Schools
VIDEO: District's Case for Artificial Turf
The superintendent on the surplus and why the district says an artificial turf field is a smart move.
Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried sat down with Montville Patch to discuss the on Tuesday.
Budget Background
The Montville Township Board of Education is asking voters to approve shifting $990,000 in surplus funds from the operating side of the budget to the capital side of the budget in order to build an artificial turf athletic field with state-of-the-art drainage for and the community at large.
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The surplus comes from the board’s decision to change health insurance carriers, resulting in savings of $1.5 million from the amount originally budgeted and approved by voters.
Costs associated with conducting the special question are being paid for by the nonprofit organization Turf the Valley, Fried said.
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“If the question before the community is defeated, if we don’t have the funds to build a new artificial turf field, the existing field will certainly remain as it is. The field will remain in use until it is deemed dangerous,” Fried said.
Safety and Usability
Safety and usability are the two main reasons Fried cited for replacing Montville Township High School’s grass field with an artificial turf field.
Poor drainage has resulted in an uneven and, often times, unusable facility, Fried said.
According to Fried, regular maintenance and short-term updates have not corrected the ongoing problems with the current field. Many teams need to use other fields.
Artificial Turf or Sod?
According to Fried, because grass fields have to be rested in order to remain strong, and because they cannot be used during wet weather, the district bears additional expenses in excess of $21,000 annually to bus teams to other locations for practice and games.
Additionally, the current field was not designed with the proper drainage and correcting the drainage problem will cost roughly the same for both a turf or sod field, the superintendent said.
“That is a huge part of the overall cost,” Fried said of the drainage component.
Maintenance costs are another factor the Board of Education weighed in its decision to support a turf athletic field.
“The approximate cost of maintenance for a turf field is $5,000 a year, as opposed to a grass field which could potentially cost somewhere around $40,000 or $45,000 a year,” said Fried.
“The cost comparison is remarkable," Fried said. "Per hour for a grass field is about $240 per hour. The cost for an artificial turf field is about $45 per hour.”
Some Surplus Would Remain
World language programs, technology, an updated sound system for the drama program, and elementary keyboarding programs are just a few of the possible improvements Fried is considering.
Working with principals and parent teacher organizations, uses for the remaining $510,000 of the $1.5 million surplus, will be examined, Fried said.
Additionally, according to Fried, given the standard 10 percent buffer the architect built into the artificial turf field construction estimate, the fact that Turf the Valley has raised some funds for field construction, and that the economy has been a factor in overall lower construction estimates, there is hope that the project could come in under the $990,000. If it does, that savings will provide the district with additional funds for one-time improvements, he said.
