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Date: 12/19/2022
AMHERST – The Amherst Town Council adopted a resolution concerning the safety of the Amherst-Pelham Regional High School Athletic Complex at its Dec. 12 meeting. The resolution comes a week after the council voted to appropriate $900,000 to give to the Amherst Regional Public Schools (ARPS) district for whatever course of action they choose in regards to the track and field rehabilitation project. There was some dissent among the council as to whether the town should fund an artificial turf field due to some councilors’ health concerns about the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) within it; they believed a natural grass field was a better option.. The resolution addresses these concerns.
After summarizing the history of the issue, the resolution first proclaims the council’s support of the plan to renovate the athletic complex.
“Now therefore be it resolved, that the Amherst Town Council supports the current and future implementation of Athletic Facilities Strategic Plan to improve the town’s athletic facilities, address the overuse of the fields, make the facilities ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] accessible, and make the track useable for MIAA [Massachusetts InterScholastic Athletic Association]track competitions.”
Then the health concerns are addressed, with the council’s support of the commitment to further research the long-term effects of PFAS and enacting policy to combat these potentially negative effects if necessary.
“Be it further resolved, that the Amherst Town Council supports the need to further investigate the impacts of PFAS in all consumer products in our community, continuing to learn about the impacts of newer materials of artificial turf in our community, and taking legislative action to address such impacts.”
The motion to adopt the resolution was made by Councilor Michelle Miller. She explained that she made a previous motion last week which was postponed by Councilor Shalini Bahl-Milne due to concerns about the goals of the resolution, but that her, Bahl-Milne, and Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke were able to collaborate to reconcile their perspectives.
“Last week presented a motion that I felt was coupling with the action we took to add Option 2 to the appropriation order. This resolution was postponed and we heard the reason the Councilor Bahl-Milne postponed it. Shalini and I were able to get together and talk about her concerns, and it was clear that also [Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke] was having some similar concerns, so we decided that we would try to work together on a resolution that we hoped would address a couple things…We went into our meeting trying to get clear what the intentions of the resolution were,” Miller said.
She said that they set out to address only the facts of the situation, and to find the best possible solution for the schoolchildren of the district.
“We wanted to stick to facts of record, we wanted to stick to timelines that have been established. We wanted to express our support for our students and our student athletes as well as express our understanding that the fields are in very poor condition. We also wanted to express the concerns brought up about artificial turf and PFAS and make some commitment to continue to evaluate those concerns. What we didn’t want to do was get into a debate in this resolution about the science or choosing a side in the resolution. We really worked hard to try to create a balanced resolution that acknowledged concerns and put on the record our support for our student athletes,” Miller said.
Miller acknowledged that the council may decide in the future to formally advise the Regional School Committee as to their choice of materials, but that this resolution was not the right time to do so.
“However, I will say that we also discussed in our meeting last week, and I think this [Councilor] Andy [Steinberg]’s suggestion, if the council wants to take a position or provide some guidance to the Regional School Committee, then that’s a discussion that this council should have, and perhaps there’s some other measure or a letter written by our council president on behalf of the council to give the Regional School Committee direction, but we felt that this resolution wasn’t the right place to do that,” Miller said.
The vote to adopt the resolution passed 10-2, with one abstention from Councilor Cathy Schoen. Councilors Ellisha Walker and Dorothy Pam were the only members to oppose the motion. Pam was opposed to the motion on the grounds that she felt it was rejecting direct advice from experts on the Amherst Board of Health.
“I read this and I was quite surprised, because I didn’t see that this adding anything, it does not say an action. The only thing new is ‘We have listened to the Amherst Board of Health,’ but it doesn’t sound like we are saying ‘We will follow the Amherst Board of Health’s advice,’” Pam said.
She disliked the lack of planning within the resolution for the practicalities of dealing with a field containing PFAS and the risk to students exposed to them, and as such, could not in good conscience support the motion.
“I know that not all scientists agree, but since most of them do, and since most health organizations do agree that PFAS is dangerous to all, particularly to young people, this doesn’t include any of the discussion of once you get something with PFAS in it, what you do when you have to get rid of it and dispose of it, or how you take care of it, with what equipment…so I am very unhappy with this. I don’t see this as anything that I can support,” Pam said.