$474K Approved For Chatham Township Turf Project

CHATHAM, NJ — The township committee recently approved nearly half a million dollars toward a contract to replace the current turf at Shunpike Field.

The decision to award a contract for $474,000 was taken during the township committee meeting on Tuesday night and was unanimously accepted by the committee.

During the Sept. 12 committee workshop meeting, Township Administrator Ziad Shehady noted that the turf at Shunpike was "well beyond its useful life," making it a safety concern for the community.

"The feedback from all the athletic groups was that we needed to update it," Shehady said.

Mayor Ashley Felice stated that she was also told that the current turf conditions had posed a safety hazard for the children who play on it, which made the project a top priority for the committee.

The current turf field was installed in 2011 after being contracted out in the spring of 2010.

The creation of the turf field was initially made possible through a tri-local agreement involving the township, Chatham Borough and the Chatham Athletic Foundation, with each providing financing for the construction of the multipurpose turf field.

This time around, the new turf will be paid for by Chatham Township. According to Councilman Mark Lois, the funding for the project is coming from the town's open space trust, the recreation trust and general capital funds.

"I think this is a beautiful thing, and I think it's great that we were able to come together and make, in my view, a correction to the 2023 capital budget, which had zero capital for recreation, and really make a significant investment and contribution in capital to recreation. Thank you to everyone," Lois said.

According to Shehady, the goal would be to have the turf replaced before spring 2024.

The turf field is located at 58 Shunpike Road, Chatham Township.