‘What is the Cost of Natural Grass Vs. Turf?’

Sod versus turf on .

It’s a question that the Turf Committee must answer and members of the public are now putting pressure on the committee to make the numbers available to the public as soon as possible. Some of those numbers have already been made available, committee members said.

Members of the said Wednesday night that despite public concerns across town that there has not been a focus on the costs to fix drainage and re-sod, it was a focus in the committee’s first meeting five weeks ago and when the committee presents it’s findings and recommendations to the Town Council later this year, all those numbers will be included.

As the turf committee moves closer to presenting their findings, there has been a growing debate in the community over whether it would be more beneficial financially to address the drainage issues and re-sod the field instead of switching to artificial turf.

The debate spilled over into the committee’s Wednesday meeting as the issue was brought up by Board of Finance member Anthony Casale and local resident Art Cyr, who both requested the information be provided sooner rather than later.

“I’m not for or against turf as it sits on the books today,” Casale said. “What I am for is due process and I don’t believe that process is happening as we have heard at the meeting. If in the end, the benefits show it’s better for turf and choose turf, then we should have it. Either way, there is still a drainage issue on the field that needs to be addressed and we need to know for due process what those numbers are.”

Over the past several meetings, the committee has discussed installation, maintenance and long-term costs related to turf. They have also and members of the committee have visited surrounding towns to determine how efficient different types of turf have been.

After reviewing expert opinions from three of the top companies - ProGrass, Shaw Sportexe and FieldTurf – the cost for turf installation, including addressing drainage issues, would sit around $900,000. Maintenance would cost about $5,000 per year, experts from each of the companies said, with a turf’s expected lifespan around 12 years before needing replacement. Many fields have gone longer.

Committee members Brian Goralski and John Fontana said that in the first meeting, the committee discussed approximate costs for the field if repaired and maintained as natural grass. These costs included $300,000, estimated, to re-sod the field and $32,700 annually for maintenance. The costs do not include additional work that would be needed to repair drainage issues or the need to re-sod on regular cycles.

“With the system not up to caliber - we don’t have proper rock underneath, we don’t have proper pipe - that will never be fixed unless we fix the drainage issues first and that in itself is an extensive process,” Goralski said. “If we are to fix the field at a cost that exceeds half of what it would take to install turf, we need to look at everything as a whole.”

The side-by-side analysis just isn’t that simple, however.

Currently, the field serves primarily as a football field, home to five games a year according to Athletic Director Eric Swallow. In addition, it serves as the place for graduation, a band competition, a few lacrosse games, the Relay for Life and maybe a few other sporting events. That’s it, he said, because the field is not in condition to handle any additional contests.

In fact, Southington High School’s playoff caliber teams including the field hockey team in 2009 were forced to travel instead of hosting the playoffs at home because the existing field did not meet conditions required by the league.

“If we were to go with turf, we would be able to host those games. When not in use for varsity competition, the field would truly be a communal field,” he said.

If turf were to be installed, Swallow said it would not be used as a practice field and would be scheduled for maximum use year round including several events on some days. Swallow presented a mock schedule to the committee that showed use of the field not only for varsity level competition, but recreational leagues and youth leagues as well.

The turf could also be offered on a per use basis to out of town leagues and, if the turf is installed, a direct set of fees would be established for both in and out-of-town use.

A copy of the mock schedule and other details of the field are available on Swallow’s website, southingtonsports.com.

Fontana has also pointed to the additional benefits of turf, which include enhanced safety and the ability to play games regardless of weather such as September rains which led to postponement of the New Britain versus Southington football game.

Cyr said that although he is fully in favor of exploring the benefits of turf, he is concerned that information just isn’t being presented in an efficient and complete manner at this point. Perception from those in the community he has spoken with is that the committee has not spent enough time exploring just making repairs and keeping natural grass.

“Those of talked with, 95 percent of people who I’ve discussed this issue with have said to me ‘what’s wrong with grass?’ and at this point in process, even tonight Eric (Swallow) didn’t have that information. That’s what people frustrated with,” Cyr said.

“There’s a perception here that’s part of the problem. If we don’t get people past the ‘let’s fix what we’ve got, it’s no big deal’,” he said, “then you are facing an uphill battle. The fact is, there is still not a number on the blackboard saying ‘this is what costs to fix the field now and over next ten years.”

Councilman Al Natelli Jr., who also serves on the Turf Committee and acted as the chairman in Mike DeFeo’s absence Wednesday, said numbers are available and will be made available upon request. Councilman John Barry, also a member of the committee, asked that Swallow send a copy of the projected cost estimates to repair the field as is to members of the committee this week.

Southington Patch has requested a copy of those numbers and will post the documents as they become available.

Goralski warns that even with discussions over potential cost, it’s still early to determine what the exacts costs will be and those won’t be available until the town goes out to bid, no matter whether the Town Council decides to go with turf or stay with natural grass.

If costs for either project were to exceed $1 million, the decision would also need approval through referendum.

“There are many factors at play here and many things we still need to bring together. We have been open with the process and we will continue to be open,” Natelli said. “These meetings aren’t televised, but they are open to the public. When we return to the council, we will present everything in a public, televised fashion so that the town’s residents can hear the information for themselves. No decisions are being made now.”