Fundraising for Artificial Turf Field Falls far Short of Mark

On January 9, the Hurricane Boosters updated the Regional School Committee (RSC) on their fundraising efforts for an artificial turf athletic field at the high school. They reported that, to date, they have received $349,540 in commitments, of which $243,040 was described as “in hand.” The fundraising goal, as stated in a 2022 financial plan, was $1 million.

The Boosters provided no documentation or written report to the RSC. Their last visit to the RSC was in January 2023, when they reported $339,000 in committed funds, representing an addition of slightly more than $10,000 in the past 12 months. 

Stephanie Hockman, Boosters treasurer, said she has been working with Robert Peirent, a consultant hired by the Town of Amherst, whom she said had put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the design of the new field, and that a contract has now been signed with SLR Consulting for design work that would be based on the artificial turf option. This differs from what Interim Superintendent Douglas Slaughter has told the RSC and from the RFP itself, which states that the decision about which option would be designed would be based on funding availability and community input. Slaughter had not previously informed the RSC which of the two firms that submitted proposals in response to the RFP had been selected.

RSC members had several questions for the Booster representatives. Sarah Marshall (Amherst) asked if the Boosters had been asked to fundraise to a certain dollar goal. Hockman replied that they were asked to raise $331,000 by January 2023 (as stipulated in the debt authorization) but “other than that, there has never been a number asked of us.” According to the 2022 financial plan developed by then Finance Director Doug Slaughter, however, the Boosters were supposed to raise $1 million to cover the cost of the artificial turf field portion of the project, estimated at that time to cost a total of $4.7 million. Using the estimated cost escalations from consultants Weston and Sampson, the price in 2024 dollars for a project with a typical artificial turf field with a crumb rubber infill would now be approximately $6 million. 

RSC member Bridget Hynes (Amherst) asked whether money from a fundraiser that advertised that it was for the track (and not the artificial turf field) was being separated out to be put toward costs for the track. She said that many people would likely be willing to contribute to the project if it did not include artificial turf. The Boosters have thus far insisted that all funds raised could only be used for a project that includes an artificial turf field. Hockman indicated that they would need to reach out to donors to ask if they would be willing to have the money go toward a project that included a grass field instead. Hurricane Booster President Mary Klaes said “I’m sure many of them will continue to donate” if the project were to change from the artificial turf option.  

Jennifer Shiao (Amherst) asked for clarity about $50,000 of the committed funds being a matching fund from a local bank. Hockman explained that they planned to offer donors name plates on the stands for every $100 donation, which would be matched by bankESB. Shutesbury representative Anna Heard, however, pointed out that the planned project does not include stands. 

Klaes noted that “a lot of us [Boosters] are extremely exhausted and have other commitments and have to draw a line in the sand.” Hockman said that “thanks to the craziness of this town and the board [RSC] and the changes that have happened over the last couple of years, our terms end at the end of 2024 and I am no longer personally going to spend any more time…my precious time with my kids that are about to go off to college, if you guys aren’t fully committed because it is a waste of my time.” Asked by Marshall how a change in the scope of the project to allow more flexibility in options would impact fundraising, Klaes repeated that the Boosters would only work for Option 3 (artificial turf) but that, “I will speak for myself. I want to see this project happen one way or the other.”

Hockman suggested that their fundraising efforts have been hampered by the controversy surrounding artificial turf. She spoke about one potential donor as an example. “There is a real estate developer that we have been having conversations with about donating. This developer wants to understand if the Town of Amherst is truly committed to this project before they give money to it. In order to get that there, they want to see a strong statement from the Town of Amherst where that person has to go get planning approvals from, and from the Regional School Committee, that it is going forward before he writes that check.”

The RSC had planned to take a vote about revising the existing debt authorization that specifies the inclusion of artificial turf with language that would allow natural grass options to be considered as well. However, the late hour prompted a motion to adjourn. A vote on this issue had been deferred twice previously. 

Video of the meeting can be viewed here and here (the recording was uploaded as two separate files).