Turf Field Supporters State Their Case

Chelmsford’s Town Meeting representatives have been busily preparing to make their decisions on a variety of warrant articles next week, and advocates for one of those articles hope they’ve made their case.

Capped with a presentation last week at the Police Station, supporters of new turf fields at Chelmsford High School and McCarthy Middle School invited Town Meeting representatives to a presentation on the approximately $3.1 million project.

Article 18, which goes before Town Meeting reps next week, would authorize $1.2 million in Community Preservation funds as well as an $800,000 bond for the project, with the remainder of the funding coming from town and school capital budget as well as private fundraising.

Supporters of the article also indicate that the bond would be paid back through possible naming rights to be determined at the discretion of the School Committee, in addition to increased field rentals and user fees for parents of children using the fields.

That last method to pay back the bond worried Town Meeting representative Peggy Dunn, who indicated that she is “on the fence” overall on the project.

“One of my main concerns is that they might charge (in-town) non-scholastic youth groups,” said Dunn. “That seems unfair, but they’re saying that’s not what it is.”

Supporters indicated that they hope to keep user surcharges for the fields to a minimum, and that increased usage of local hotels and restaurants adding to local tax revenue might also help allay costs, and that other nearby communities that have installed turf fields such as Tyngsboro have seen additional use by the community and additional rental revenue for towns.

For School Committee member and Article 18 advocate Nick DiSilvio, the project is also a matter of public safety. Two years ago, his child suffered a serious injury when running a pattern during football practice on the fields, leading to extensive surgery.

“The surgeon told us that if this child was playing on a controlled surface, this never would have happened,” he said. “It was an accident, accidents always happen, but again, we want to put the kids in a more controlled environement than just letting it go because ‘the field is as the field is.’”

The full presentation is available on the Chelmsford Schools website.