Grass Athletic Field for High School Back on the Table
Proposed options 2 and 3 for renovation of the high school track and athletic fields involve relocating the track to a north/south orientation and installing a new playing field inside the track of either natural grass (option 2) or synthetic turf (option 3). The softball diamond is not part of the plan. Photo: amherstma.gov
At its January 23, 2024 meeting, the Regional School Committee (RSC) voted unanimously for a new debt authorization that allows the high school track and field project to pursue all available project options. This vote reverses the previous restriction that only permitted artificial turf for the project.
In October 2023, Interim Superintendent Doug Slaughter informed the committee that the design phase of the project would require rethinking what was possible with available funding, which currently totals $3.4 million from municipal sources and, as reported earlier this month, $243,040 from private fundraising by the Hurricane Boosters. The funding plan for the project included $1 million in fundraising, but in the past year less than $11,000 in promised donations have been added.
In November, the RSC responded to both the funding shortfall and growing concerns about artificial turf by putting forward a motion to change the debt authorization to allow a less expensive grass field option to be once again considered. The vote on this motion has been tabled at the last three meetings while the committee sought clarification on the required legal language and as meetings were adjourned due to late running times.
At the meeting this week, Jennifer Shiao (Amherst) made the motion to rescind the existing debt authorization and made it clear that if it passed, the intent was to make a subsequent motion to replace it with a new authorization. ”This doesn’t prevent any project from happening. It gives us more flexibility and it sets us up for success. What we don’t want is to be tied to artificial turf and then realize we don’t have enough money and then what would we do? So, we’re setting ourselves up for success now by opening up more options.” Discussion was wide ranging and long, and covered topics such as procedural requirements for the votes, costs and funding, and timing of future decision making. (The discussion can be viewed here starting at time 3 hr:04 min and going to 4 hr:49 min.) A vote to end debate failed (4 yes, 4 no, 1 abstention) as did a vote to again table the issue (4 yes, 5 no).
The vote to rescind the previous authorization passed: 5 yes (Jennifer Shiao and Bridget Hynes of Amherst, William Sherr of Pelham, Anna Heard of Shutesbury, and Tilman Wolf of Leverett) and 4 no (Deborah Leonard, Irv Rhodes, and Sarah Marshall of Amherst, Sarabess Kenney of Pelham). The vote on the new debt authorization allowing either grass or artificial turf passed unanimously. A third vote, required by law, to notify the Select Boards of Pelham, Shutesbury, and Leverett and Amherst Town Council also passed unanimously.
Slaughter notified the RSC that the first meeting with the designers (SLR International Corporation) would take place next week. The first phase of their work will be a site evaluation including geotechnical and stormwater analysis. The District must then decide which option SLR will begin designing.