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Date: 12/14/2022
AMHERST – The Amherst Town Council met on Dec. 5 to reconsider their Nov. 21 decision not to appropriate $900,000 for the renovation of the Amherst Regional Public Schools (ARPS) track and field facilities. After hearing new information and roughly an hour of public comment from ARPS students and faculty, the council voted to authorize the funds to be used for the project as ARPS sees fit.
The vote on Nov. 21 failed due to a tie. The council was split in their opinions, as some felt that the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in artificial turf were too harmful for students to be exposed to and preferred the idea of a grass field, while others felt that the abysmal conditions of the current track and field were such a pressing safety matter that their remedying was the top priority, leading to the faster-built and cheaper artificial turf.
This reconsideration came in light of a letter to the council from ARPS Superintendent Michael Morris and Athletic Director Victoria Dawson, sent the day after the council’s original decision. The letter requests several commitments from the town. All the commitments revolve around the immediate construction and maintenance of high-quality grass athletic fields; the logic being that if half the council would not support the funding appropriation due to concerns about PFAS in turf, that they should then commit to the alternative grass instead of delaying the much-needed repairs. Prior to the meeting, certain councilors added facts and statistics under each commitment.
Morris explained his – and the School Committee’s – thought process in regard to the letter.
“After the last meeting that we attended of the Town Council, we heard significant feedback and input from town councilors who expressed interest in using a natural grass field … We want to actually make concrete what that would look like, because these fields are a problem … There is more than one way to get to better playing surfaces. We are unchanged in our recommendation of an artificial turf field. That said, numerous town councilors expressed a preference for a grass field as an alternative and we tried to express what that would look like. That was really the genesis of the letter,” Morris said.
He added that this is a serious, pressing issue for the whole ARPS community, and that not comprehensively replacing the track and field is not even an option in his mind.
“We feel this is an incredibly urgent situation that requires commitment. We wanted to give, based on councilors’ thoughts and views that were shared at that meeting, what that would look like if they want to oppose artificial turf but still make a significant impact on this safety situation we’re currently have, so we wanted to express that in writing so that the town council could explore Option A and Option B. It’s my opinion that there is no Option C,” Morris said. “Option C is to maintain fields that continue to have safety risks, that have students not being able to practice on, and sometimes practicing and playing on fields that the MIAA, our governing agency continues to find unsafe on a regular basis.”
Design firm Weston and Sampson issued a Feb. 11, 2022 report on the state of the track and fields and several options to move forward. Options 2 and 3 read as follows, “Relocate the Track to a North/ South orientation with a natural turf [Option 2] or synthetic turf [Option 3] playing field interior. Relocate field event areas to adjoining field space. Improve access, perimeter fencing and pathways systems to provide ADA accessibility to the track facility. Construction over the culverted Tan Brook. New field lighting and irrigation.”
When all was said and done, the Town Council voted to appropriate the $900,000 so that the district can pursue either option 2 or 3 at its discretion. The council voted unanimously in favor of the motion. This is merely Amherst’s portion; the other member towns of the region school district must cover their share, but now the project will move forward thanks to Amherst’s contribution.