School Board Approves Recommendation for Turf Advisory Committee

The Board of Education is on board with an effort to have synthetic turf installed at Fontana Field, but costs remain a legitimate concern and left a few members skeptical.

The board approved a motion Thursday agreeing to work alongside the in developing a turf advisory committee. The committee, which would be overseen by the council, would be responsible for developing specifications and determining exact costs to meet Southington’s needs.

Questions remain, however, in how the near $1 million project would be funded.

“There are three options when it comes to how the project would be paid for,” said Board of Education Chairman Brian Goralski.

“This is a project we could go to bond on, using the revenue to pay back. We could be fortunate to receive a gift or the last is to fund it through a one time cash purchase,” said Goralski, who was a member of the turf exploratory committee. “Ultimately, the decision would fall to the council and at some point, a hearing will be held for the public to have their say.”

Members of the board came to a 7-1 vote after Councilman Albert Natelli Jr., speaking on behalf of the council and turf committee, presented a lengthy presentation similar to that . Patricia Johnson was absent Thursday.

The presentation showed savings in a switch to turf fields – as much as $173,000 over a 10-year period, not including revenues – but it wasn’t enough to satisfy all members of the board.

Zaya Oshana, one of the newer members on the Board of Education, voted against the plan and cited concerns that money is being inappropriately spent on other projects during a tough economic cycle that led to the board proposing to eliminate teachers during the upcoming school year to make ends meet.

“When we just passed a budget that eliminated teachers for the first time in years, it’s a conflict to be discussing this right now,” Oshana said. “I know this isn’t coming from our budget, but taxes in town are all coming from the same pockets.”

The Board of Education, as part of its 2012-13 budget proposal, called for the elimination of 22 full-time positions including 15 teachers and seven paraprofessionals.

That number could grow by the time a budget is approved as the Board of Finance came to a consensus to cut an additional $215,000 from the Board of Education budget proposal during a finance workshop Thursday night. The finance board also decided it would cut $635,000 from the proposed town government budget.

“With cuts, we will be left to look at either programming or staff to reduce costs,” Erardi said during the finance workshop.

While money remains a concern, most school board members are on board with the project, however.

As part of the project, the field would be turned over officially from the Board of Education to the town and used as a true community field, several members said.

School Board member Patricia Queen, who has lived in several states and seen the advantages of the turf field, said she would like to see Fontana Field utilized more and turf is the answer to making that happen.

“Whenever I go by , I am always surprised at how full the parking lot is. The lots are filled to the max, yet the field is always empty,” she said. “Learning tonight that the field is used less than 50 times per year – I just think we need to address that. This is a plan where the space isn’t just used by athletes.”