Issues & Analyses: District’s Denial of Fiscal Realities Could Put ARHS Field Improvements out of Reach

Last week, Interim Superintendent Doug Slaughter issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the High School Track and Field renovation project. In January 2023, then Finance Director Slaughter reassured a member of the Regional School Committee (RSC) that this elected body would have an opportunity to review and offer input to the document before it would be released, but this did not happen. The RSC was only notified after the fact.

The RFP seeks answers on some heretofore critical and unanswered questions, such as a site assessment with respect to wetlands, soil, and drainage, including the Tan Brook that is culverted under the proposed site. It is not clear however if the scope of this analysis extends to all the playing fields north and west of the high school building, which also require improvements and would be impacted by any project that involves modifications to the track and its associated field. 

The RFP also seeks designs for all the options outlined in the 2022 technical memorandum from Weston and Sampson, which includes only resurfacing the current 6-lane track (option 1A), expanding and replacing the track and interior grass field in its current East-West orientation (option 1B), expanding and replacing the track and grass field in a North-South orientation (option 2), and expanding and replacing the track and field in a North-South orientation using artificial turf (option 3). While all of the options would include ADA accessibility, only 1B, 2, and 3 include field lighting. None of the options include new stands/bleachers or a press box. Cost estimates in 2021 dollars, including design fees, were as follows:

Option     Cost  

1A $1.25M

1B $3.54M

2 $3.77M

3 $4.74M

Cost estimates did not include any necessary site work, such as that related to the Tan Brook. Cost escalation was predicted to be between 4-6% per year, with this project at least another year away from bidding. In a 2022 memo, Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman and former Finance Director Sean Mangano provided an estimation of cost escalation estimate for Option 3 (artificial turf field) at $5 – 6M.

The cost estimates quoted for artificial turf were for a “typical” field, which usually includes crumb rubber infill. The specialty products being promoted by the Hurricane Boosters in their fundraising materials have not been costed out, nor has the new specialized equipment that would need to be purchased to maintain an artificial turf field. The funding plan that has been developed also does not account for the cost of disposal and replacement of the turf carpet, which is required every 8-10 years and was estimated by Weston and Sampson in 2021 at nearly $1M. The cost of testing and monitoring for soil and water contamination has also never been considered.

Since the project was given the green light by the RSC in March 2022, documented and secured funds amount to $3.37M. Reported in-hand donations from the Boosters’ fundraising efforts are ~$81,000, less than 10% of the originally-promised $1M. Even though the amount of funds secured by the January 2023 deadline fell short of the stipulated amount in order to allow the project to proceed, the RSC voted to allow the district to continue to pursue the most expensive option (Option 3 – artificial turf). Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding from Pelham and Leverett was denied because the funding request specified artificial turf, and the CPA application to Shutesbury was withdrawn after a hearing that aired unanimous opposition to artificial turf from members of the public. 

The Boards of Health from all four member towns (Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury) have advised against the use of artificial turf at the high school based on health, safety, environmental, and climate concerns. The Town Meetings of Pelham and Shutesbury passed resolutions in 2023 calling for the RSC to drop artificial turf from the project and pivot to natural grass for the field inside the track. News coverage about PFAS and microplastics that are released into the environment from artificial turf fields raised concerns among the local public that are mirrored throughout the state and country, with resultant bans in several municipalities, and several pieces of pending legislation that would prevent the further use of PFAS and artificial turf throughout the commonwealth. 

Mount Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown, Massacusetts has been working on a similar track and field project. After a period of reflection and analysis, they eventually settled on natural grass for the field surface rather than artificial turf. The Mt Greylock project is very similar to Amherst’s Option 2 except that it included bleachers and a press box. The district recently received bids that exceeded the cost estimate ($4.4M, done this year) by 40%. They have undertaken some value engineering (reducing what is in scope) to bring down the cost and sent it back out to bid. The Mount Greylock situation illustrates the continuing problems of rising costs and the importance of moving forward promptly with a project that is within the town’s means now, before costs put everything but the most limited option (1A – track resurfacing) out of reach. 

The high school track and field project is at a critical juncture. After over a year and a half, funding stands at $3.37M and cost estimates are in excess of $5-6M for the artificial turf option. If the RFP is successfully executed, it would take many months to complete the work to get some new information, but will also expend time and money to show what we already know: we can’t afford Option 3. If the school district doesn’t make the decision now to stop pursuing artificial turf and move forward with an option that is affordable (the less expensive, well constructed, properly draining grass interior field), Amherst could very well end up with no field improvements at all. 

Let’s work together toward an achievable and extremely beneficial project that would provide our students and community with excellent facilities as soon as possible. Option 2 is within our grasp and within our means, for now.

Maria Kopicki is a resident of Amherst’s District 5