HILLSDALE—The borough engineer said he would provide estimates for both natural sod and the proposed artificial turf originally planned at Memorial Field as part of a formal presentation of a revised design concept for the site.
A fully revised Memorial Field design will be presented by Colliers Engineering to the council at its Feb. 11 meeting at 7 p.m.
In addition, borough engineer Nick Chelius said another Colliers Engineering colleague, Carl O’Brien, would attend the Feb. 11 meeting to likely discuss the pros and cons of artificial turf fields versus natural sod, factoring in environmental and children’s safety concerns.
Chelius said O’Brien had worked on many artificial turf fields and was familiar with the ongoing turf vs. sod debate. He added that he would make O’Brien aware of artificial turf concerns raised by some residents.
Council seeks cost, health, and environmental comparisons
Councilor John Ruocco, who has raised concerns about possible environmental and health impacts from artificial turf, asked Chelius if he would be willing to go on record stating “that there is no significant risk” from artificial turf.
Chelius said the question fell outside his engineering expertise, and given conflicting studies, it was “hard to kind of decipher where the truth lies.”
Ruocco told the council he felt he was “going in blind” to the Feb. 11 meeting without information as to whether artificial turf was better or worse than natural sod. He said some Environmental Commission and Board of Healthmembers had expressed similar concerns over artificial turf’s health and safety impacts.
Councilor Clemente Osso asked for cost estimates for both options, and Ruocco requested “lifecycle” estimates to calculate long-term project costs. Chelius said a price estimate had been supplied to Administrator Mike Ghassali.
Memorial Field plan updates and public forum
Osso said changes made to Memorial Field, based on public input, included:
- Additional parking,
- A change in access to Hillsdale Avenue,
- A new sitting area, and
- A new playground.
A homeowners’ forum is scheduled for Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall, with notices sent to homes within 200 feet of Memorial Field. Osso invited all interested residents to attend.
(See “Artificial turf vs. grass on Memorial Field; DPW renovations bear down on December deadline,” by Michael Olohan, July 28, 2024, at thepressgroup.net.)
For more information on the Memorial Field upgrades, see:
- “Revised $6.5M Memorial Field Plan likely at Feb. council meeting,” Dec. 12, 2024, and
- “Neighbors sharp on Memorial Field concept,” Dec. 8, 2024, both by Michael Olohan, at thepressgroup.net.
Centennial Field renovations continue
Chelius also noted that renovation work was paused at Centennial Field for the winter, with drainage improvements set to resume when weather permits. He anticipated natural sod would be installed soon, with a four- to six-week resting period before the field could be played on. He estimated the new sod fields would be ready by Memorial Day.