HILLSDALE—Moving ahead with the first round of bonding and digging into the specifics of synthetic turf products are top priorities for Hillsdale’s Fields Committee as the borough begins work on the approved $5.8 million Memorial Field upgrade.
“We’re going to be looking at different types of [artificial] turf,” Administrator Mike Ghassali told Pascack Press. He said the Fields Committee plans to visit synthetic fields in towns such as Haworth, North Brunswick, Tenafly, and possibly Fair Lawn.
He said committee members—including councilmembers Robert Colletti Jr., Clemente Osso, and Melissa Mazza-Chiong, along with Ghassali and Recreation Director Dan Conte—will evaluate turf options that use various infill materials, such as crumb rubber and coconut, as well as turf products that use no infill at all.
On March 11, council decisions
The Borough Council voted 4–2 to approve Resolution 25-102, authorizing the Memorial Field improvement plan and capping spending at $5.8 million. Councilmembers Robert Colletti Jr., Justin Fox, Melissa Mazza-Chiong, and Clemente Osso voted in favor; John Ruocco and Janetta Trochimiuk voted against.
Ghassali explained that, following a 2021 budget increase, the borough has been allocating $500,000 annually into a field improvement account. About $1.2 million from that account, combined with $4.6 million in bonding, will finance the park upgrades. He noted that there would be no annual tax increase as long as the project stays within the approved $5.8 million cap.
In a separate decision, councilmembers—by a 5–1 show of hands—chose to install artificial turf rather than natural grass on the approximately 120,000-square-foot field. Ruocco cast the sole vote in favor of natural grass, citing health, safety, and environmental concerns related to synthetic turf.
Colletti said one turf product under consideration, called Pivot, uses no infill, features a shock-absorbing pad beneath the surface, and may carry a lower potential for PFAS—so-called “forever chemicals.” Ghassali said he would research that and other products further as the process moves forward.
The council also split 3–3 on whether to include field lighting in the initial bid specifications. Fox, Mazza-Chiong, and Trochimiuk supported including lighting; Colletti, Osso, and Ruocco were opposed. Mayor Michael Sheinfield broke the tie, voting against including field lighting but supporting the installation of underground conduit to allow for the option to add lighting in the future.
Borough Engineer Nick Chelius estimated that laying conduit for future lighting would cost between $50,000 and $100,000. He said bollard lights around the walking path would also require electricity and conduit.
Ghassali noted that including field lighting in the current bid would raise the total project cost to nearly $7.9 million and result in an estimated $50 annual tax increase for the average homeowner. That option was not approved.
Some residents at the March 11 meeting voiced concern about the project’s timing and overall cost, pointing to a proposed 4.9% increase in the 2025 municipal budget and the anticipated $840 average annual tax impact from the $62.4 million bond referendum to renovate George White Middle School.
Most neighbors opposed field lighting, while most coaches favored it to extend field use and playing time. Several residents questioned the project’s overall cost in light of high property taxes, with some noting their tax bills had tripled or quadrupled over the past 25 to 30 years. Others said Hillsdale was becoming increasingly unaffordable.