Neighbors, District Tangle Over Disclosure and Damage of Fields

The district continued to absorb harsh criticism from neighbors, who again said they took objection to the district not disclosing bids of field work, and further speculated that the fields have made flooding worse for those around North Irving Street.

Through an Open Public Records Access (OPRA) request, neighbors said at Monday night's school board meeting that they've discovered that a bid component from one of the area's top athletic field construction firms, LandTek Group, recommended that the district do a deep infill cleaning of its new flood plain-centered turf fields days after should their be damage to the infill. The bid for that infill cleaning was worth a total of $274,975. The district has maintained for months the turf drainage would not be compromised by flooding.

After the first March storm ravaged through the new fields, the district opted to accept a lower bid (just north of $20,000) from Dakota Landscapers for surface level cleaning, a far cry from LandTek's bid. LandTek is the top installer of Field Turf

At the Monday night meeting, neighbor Tom Kossoff , that he's troubled that there may be damage to the infill and the district's exposure for concurrent flood costs has not been fully disclosed.

"If things are not disclosed, it creates a terrible environment," Kossoff said.

Superintendent Dr. Daniel Fishbein only disclosed the cost of the "wrinkle" from the April storm–$21,800– by a Ridgewood News reporter. The superintendent said at the time he "forgot" and meant to note the cost.

Kossoff said that school board members weren't even notified of the March LandTek bid and "were in the dark as much as the public," although both Fishbein and Assistant Superintendent of Business Angelo DeSimone were made aware of the bid.

Just as importantly, Kossoff said, his claims on the supposed drainage of the fields are validated now that LandTek's bid is known. Kossoff also said the fields don't drain properly because of infill problems and neighbors on North Irving now take greater levels of flooding, a level greater than Dakota's work in March, anecdotally confirmed by other neighbors.

LandTek's Senior Projects Manager, Anthony Gusamo, wrote in the March bid that the district provide similar but more substantive work to what was done by Dakota, which would include a blowing, sweeping of the fields, as well as a G-max test, a clearing of the wrinkles and disinfectant. The total cost to that would have been $67,800 per field.

But Gusamo wasn't done, telling the district it is "highly recommended" that after that work is completed (should LandTek win the bid, of course) and if silt has worked its way through the infill, that 1/2" to 3/4" of affected infill be removed and new infill be reinstalled.

"The purpose for doing this is to not allow the silt to migrate to the turf backing and clog the drainage as well as over(-)compact the infill[,] which will result in higher G-max readings. Total cost – $137,485 per field," the bid read.

Board President Michele Lenhard said that G-max tests–which measure a field's softness, important for preventing concussions and limiting injuries–were done on May 6 and the results are not yet in.

Silt and other matter that gets into the infill–which is an assorted mixture of silica sand and crumb rubber–harden the surface and would be exacerbated by further use.

The district will have representatives on-hand May 16 for the first of the bi-annual "deeper surface cleaning" and inspection, which will determine the level of infill damage, if there is any according to Lenhard. However, no infill cleaning will be done on the 16th and the cost is $7,000 for the bi-annual cleaning contract.

Resident Cynthia Fitzgerald of North Irving Street told the district board and administrators she believes it was irresponsible of them to not inform the residents that there was a recommendation from a respected bidder concerned with the infill, which affects neighbors.

She said the similarities between the March and give credence to the belief that the drainage is an issue. "There was a foot more of water in our backyards" she said of the April storm's impact on the neighbors around the North Irving area.

"And why don't you think it's important to share this information with the neighbors?" Fitzgerald asked pointedly. She said the lack of information disseminated to neighbors "needs to stop."

Board member Charles Reilly and Fitzgerald, both attorneys, spent a few minutes arguing whether the district should have alerted neighbors of the bid. Reilly said the bid was predicated on the notion that there is damage, which he said is not known.

"Don't jump to any conclusions about the conditions of the fields," Reilly said, saying there was no "probative" value to the letter because it was based on conditional points.

In a tense exchange, Reilly said "end of discussion," before Fitzgerald swung back with, "No Charlie, it's not the end of discussion."

Lenhard also confirmed at the end of the meeting that the district will be paying Dakota an additional $7,200 to place a venting system at the perimeter of Stadium Field to prevent wrinkling, which is a result of escaping air from beneath the fields during water drainage, she said.

Lenhard told Patch it is "not a cleanup cost" but rather, is "preventative," and "has been successful elsewhere." That work is expected to be completed by Friday, she said.