Controversial Westfield Turf Project To Be Voted On At Next Meeting

WESTFIELD, NJ — The time has finally come. The Westfield Town Council will take a crucial vote on the highly controversial, $9 million Edison Fields turf project next week, according to an announcement from Mayor Shelley Brindle.

After a comprehensive Strategic Parks Plan process and more than 16 months of discussion and input, the Town Council will vote on the Edison Fields Project at its next meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

It will not take place on Tuesday, as usual, due to Election Day on Nov. 8.

"The Edison Fields Project is a premier example of how hard it can be to innovatively address problems that have plagued our community for decades," Brindle said in a letter to the community.

The Westfield community has been largely split on the project that involves installing artificial turf fields at Edison Intermediate School with stadium lights.

While many student athletes and coaches have pushed for turf fields, arguing that it is the best surface for particular sports and allows for more playing time, other residents have raised issues on the impact that turf has on the environment and health of the surrounding neighborhood.

The town's engineering firm, CME Associates, conducted an in-depth study on the project and recommended that the town pursue the installation of turf fields. Although many have argued that natural grass fields would be more sustainable than turf fields, CME stated that natural grass does not allow for as much playing time than turf fields with lights would.

Read more: Turf Field Recommended For Westfield's Edison School After Study

Brindle is asking the Town Council and Board of Education to advance the project and listed numerous reasons why she is in support of turf fields at Edison.

"We need reliable field capacity to support our incredible youth sports and recreation programs in Town, and one of the best high school sports programs in the state," Brindle said. "We don't have adequate fields to meet the demand, nor do we have facilities that live up to the caliber of our championship student athletes. On this point, we all agree."

"Where solution-oriented minds differ is on the approach – mainly in terms of artificial turf or natural grass, and where and how fields should first be deployed," Brindle added.

Brindle said professional experts like Brandstetter Carroll, who led the Strategic Parks Plan, Spiezle Architectural Group, who led the Edison project design and CME Associates, who performed an independent assessment, all verified that "lit turf fields are the most fiscally prudent option to achieve [Westfield's] field usage goal..."

"While some residents dispute this conclusion in favor of an all natural grass approach, there is no compelling evidence that a town of Westfield’s size with our necessary hours of play, and the multipurpose sports fields most needed, can produce and sustain our desired outcome with natural grass over the long term," Brindle stated.

The mayor said she also spoke with turf and grass field experts who concluded that "maintaining proper multipurpose grass fields was not sustainable and mentioned that their sports teams often sought artificial turf options over time due to the deterioration of their grass fields."

When a professional sports field manager hosted a presentation for Westfield residents back in February, he argued that some advantages of natural grass include environmental benefits, heat absorption, a softer surface, and that it is less costly to renovate and can absorb water when properly maintained.

He also argued that natural grass fields are much less expensive over a 10 year life cycle.

Read more: Westfield Turf Debate Continues: Pro Field Manager Weighs In

Brindle said the council has also listened to residents' feedback through numerous public meetings, as well as through their letters to the editor, social media comments and emails. She said the feedback has been more balanced than "some would suggest."

"We’ve heard neighbors’ valid concerns about traffic, parking, noise, lights, environmental safety, and flooding, all of which can be reasonably addressed with a properly designed and scheduled facility," Brindle said. "We’ve also heard from our sports leagues, athletes, and families who no longer want to travel to and pay other towns for practices and “home” games when they pay property taxes to Westfield."

Brindle further wrote about why Edison is an ideal location for the project and the benefits of using a PILOT program. You can read her full message here.

But Brindle said Edison is not the end-all-be-all and will not solve the field shortage alone.

In the future, she said she anticipates prioritizing Tamaques Park as a next step, pending an imminent report from the County assessing the recreation potential of seven acres in the park adjacent to Lamberts Mill Road that were previously a dumping ground.

"If feasible, installing additional artificial turf fields in Tamaques, in combination with Edison, would provide us with sufficiently expanded capacity to next develop a long-term plan for maintaining well-constructed grass fields that could sustain appropriate hours of play," Brindle said.

If the project is approved on Nov. 9, the vote would authorize the Town to enter into a shared services agreement with the Board of Education — pending their approval.

Brindle said this is not a vote on the financial bonding for the final design of the project, and all of those details would come in subsequent steps.

"The Town Council members are not experts on field management and maintenance, just as we are not experts on many of the matters that come before us," Brindle said. "We have an obligation to be informed by experts, rely on the experience of our trusted Town professionals, and listen to our residents to make informed decisions. While the majority of the Council has been satisfied with the documentation, research, and financial analysis on this project, it’s no secret that not all of the Council members agree. But to say that our conclusions are biased or ill-informed, simply because they don’t produce the desired outcome some seek, does not make it so."

Brindle concluded by saying she is confident that Westfield can forge ahead with a "safe and fiscally responsible solution" that strikes a balance between the needs of Westfield students, athletes and the neighboring residents.

Check out Patch's previous coverage on the Edison Fields Project below:

$9 Million Project For New Turf Field Worries Westfield Residents

Turf Project Draws Student Athlete, Resident Support In Westfield

Turf Field Recommended For Westfield's Edison School After Study

Turf Project Sparks Health Concerns From Westfield Parents

Westfield Council Approves $14K Assessment Of Edison Fields Project

Westfield Turf Debate Continues: Pro Field Manager Weighs In

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