Turf Wins: Edison Field Project Gets Westfield School Board's Approval

WESTFIELD, NJ — Less than a week after Westfield's Town Council approved a shared settlement agreement to move forward with the Edison Fields turf project, the school board followed suit on their end of the agreement.

The board voted 5-2 in favor of the artificial turf project at Edison Intermediate School, with two members abstaining from the vote, citing conflicts on interest, on Tuesday night.

Last Wednesday, the town council also approved project in a 7-2 vote.

Read more: Crucial Decision On Turf Project Made At Westfield Council Meeting

"I think this is a really good plan for our schools," board member Amy Root said. "Yes it's [in] a residential neighborhood, but it's also a scholastic neighborhood... We have a high concentration of students who need to use this space here."

Board President Brendan Galligan said he had reservations about the project from its conception, especially because of the risk of the fields flooding during major storms.

But he said flooding at the Robinson Branch should be reduced with forthcoming Army Corps improvements and help from the Department of Environmental Protection.

"To me it comes down to one simple question," Galligan said. "Does this project benefit our student athletes? And do the benefits outweigh the negatives and the cost of our budget? As we will not be spending a penny of board dollars for the project, the budget question is moot."

"But will this benefit our student athletes? I have to say yes," he said.

Galligan said the use of lights on the fields would also allow the district to consider a later start time for the high school, as athletes would be able to practice later into the evening.

Board members Robert Benacchio and Mary Wickens both voted against the agreement.

Benacchio criticized the CME report's cost estimate of $9 million, arguing that the project will likely cost more in the long run.

He also pointed out that CME said the earliest time the fields would be completed is by 2025. By the time the fields are ready to be used, Benacchio said most of the athletes who have been complaining about the field situation will have graduated already.

Councilman David Contract attended the meeting and said he has developed a "better alternative plan" that saves money, delivers more playable hours and would provide fields earlier than 2025.

He said this plan would still likely involve turf and lights.

"This field does not deliver the most incremental playing hours to this town," Contract said. "There are better options available."

Benacchio brought a motion to table the shared services agreement, but it was voted down by the majority of the board.

Board member Wickens said she is not opposed to turf or lights, but she expressed concern about how the new fields will impact traffic and congestion in the area, as well as how it will impact the district financially.

“I just don’t think the plan we have right now is the best plan we can give in terms of increasing more fields that we can use later,” Wickens said.

The shared services agreement, which has now been passed, states that the town will pay for the cost of the project, as well as the maintenance and upkeep of the new turf fields at Edison.

You can read the full agreement on district's meeting agenda.

The full Board of Education meeting can be viewed on YouTube.