Athletic Complex Plan Met With Enthusiasm, Concerns

The Hanover Park Regional High School District Board of Education will hold a special meeting next week to discuss possible revisions to plans to upgrade the sports facilities at the district's two high schools, a project estimated to cost approximately $20 million, based on concerns raised at a public hearing Wednesday night.

The board is aiming to advance a referendum on the project in time for a March 12 vote.

After hearing input from community members and raising questions of their own, board members focused on adjusting portions of the plan that call for installing an artificial turf field at Hanover Park High School that would run into the grass outfield of a baseball field there, causing a sudden change in surface, and expanding the student parking lot at Whippany Park High School.

The board is thinking about making the fields in question at Hanover Park either all artificial turf or all sod, and expanding the teacher lot at Whippany Park High School instead of the student lot. Other revisions to the plan could be possible.

The board has scheduled a special meeting for 7:30 p.m. Monday at the district offices at Hanover Park High School to continue their discussion about possible revisions to the plan. The meeting is open to public.

All of the improvements being considered at the two schools combined, including artificial turf multi-sport fields, resurfaced tracks expanded by two lanes, new bleachers and field houses, the addition of field lighting at Whippany Park, and upgrades to practice fields, baseball and softball fields, and tennis courts, are estimated to cost $19 million.

To borrow the money for the project, the district would need to hold a special election asking voters whether or not it may go ahead with borrowing the funds. It is looking to hold the election on March 12, a date designated by the state for such bond referendums, otherwise it would have to wait until September for the next time the special election could be held.

Public hearing attendees filled most of the theater at Hanover Park High School on Wednesday night. Residents from East Hanover, Florham Park and Hanover who came to voice support for the project said the improvements are long overdue and the state of the fields can be a safety hazard and an embarrassment.

Those who voiced concerns with the project were almost all residents of Whippany who live near Whippany Park High School. They said, even while they supported athletic improvements, worried permanent lights at the field and adding 64 parking spaces in a grass buffer between the high school and East Fairchild Place would adversely affect the neighborhood.

One resident said they would not mind having some night games each season, but they were worried because supporters of the project had indicated the fields would get intensive night use on a regular basis.

Some of those residents also wondered if devoting the funding for athletic improvements would detract from any other academic or infrastructure improvements that could be more beneficial for the high school district. Some also said they wished the district would have reached out to them to notify them it was being discussed and invited them into the process when the architect was drafting plans.

A Florham Park resident said the regional high school district would be borrowing funds for the project at the same time Florham Park is advancing its own plan to develop a recreation complex on Elm Street. The resident also noted the artificial turf fields would need to be replaced about every eight to 10 years. The district's architect said the replacement cover for a field costs about $250,000. The superintendent said grass fields also are expensive to maintain.

One supporter of the project from East Hanover worried the opposition from the concerned Whippany residents would hurt the chances of the referendum passing and asked if a compromise could be reached to help bring them on board with the project. Other supporters of the project said the lights would benefit the community as a whole and the lights should not be taken out because of the concerns of a few.