School District Weighs Replacing Football Field Grass at Morristown High School

Courtesy of the Daily Record
Written by Rob Seman
September 24, 2005

MORRISTOWN, NJ -- The school board wants to spend more than $900,000 of local and state dollars to replace the high school football field grass with artificial turf.

The board envisions an artificial turf field used to host the athletic activities played on the fields at Frelinghuysen Middle School and the Harter Road annex while those fields' natural grass grows back.

The Frelinghuysen and Harter Road fields have been worn thin from constant use by school and community athletic programs that use them throughout the year. The high school football field is used only three months each year.

The board earlier this week unveiled plans for the field improvements at a special meeting. It will seek more public input on the plans at a meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday night at Lafayette Learning Center at 31 Hazel St.

Cost projection

The school board contends that the proposal would yield long-term savings. The cost of maintenance for natural grass turf, based on district salary and maintenance records, is $19,000, though the industry average is $33,000, said Mary Donohoethe district's community relations representative.

The cost to maintain artificial turf, however, would be $4,000.

The cost of installing the turf would be $928,000, $176,000 of which would be paid for by the state Department of Education through the Schools Construction Corp.

School business administrator Sue Young said that the SCC, which earlier this year indicated it was short on funds for school construction projects, likened Morristown High School to an urban school based on its enrollment, gymnasium and field sizes when determining whether to provide funding.

Donohoe said that the board would not put the proposal on a referendum. Instead, it would vote to pay for the project through a lease-purchase, which would be paid over five years. The increase in taxes for a home in Morristown assessed at $354,000 would be $8.79 per year, while for a Morris Township home assessed at $390,000, the increase would be $12.12 per year.

School officials will also be seeking to solicit money from private donors to offset the cost of the project.

Young said that turf fields last an average of 10-12 years, and are under warranty for eight to 10 years.

Changed opinion

Superintendent Thomas Ficarra said that the issue of artificial turf was first raised with him in a conversation at the field when he came to the district.

"I didn't respond, but in my mind, I thought, 'That's a frill, that's too expensive and that will never happen on my watch,'" Ficara said.

But after seeing how much wear and tear the fields were sustaining over the years, followed by an offer by the state to help pay for the project this summer, Ficarra said he quickly changed his mind.

Ficarra said that school officials did not opt for a referendum because the referendum process is lengthy.

"We are apprehensive about how long that funding will be available," Ficarra said.

Ficara said school officials would instead seek public opinion through meetings on the proposal.

"It's clearly a good idea, but there's clearly an expense associated with it," Ficarra said.

"It is an issue that should have a conversation around it and not a sound bite," Ficarra said.

'Green' benefit

Donohoe also said that there would be an ecological benefit by replacing the grass with artificial turf. Because the field is located in a flood plain, much of the fertilizer used is often washed away by rain.

The Seyffer Architectural Group, based in Glen Rock, would be hired to install the artificial turf, Donohoe said. The firm recently completed a turf project at Pascack Valley Regional High School.

Brian Carroll, a Miller Road resident, said he would have no problem paying that cost --especially if it did anything to further his dream of seeing Delbarton and Morristown's football teams play against one another on the field.

"To me it makes sense, and as a taxpayer I'd be willing to pay a little more to have that," Carroll said. "If you start to do the math, after a while it doesn't cost that much."