As review of a plan to overhaul the regional high school athletic fields drags on, the Oak Bluffs planning board came under fire Thursday night.
As years-long scrutiny and review of a plan to overhaul the regional high school athletic fields drags on, the Oak Bluffs planning board came under fire Thursday night for extending the process even further.
“Several stringent government standards have already been applied to this project,” John Zarba told the board. “Let’s please stop the delays.”
The $11 million phase one project to build a 400-meter track and turf field was approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission nine months ago. The project is now before the Oak Bluffs planning board for a special permit since it lies within the town water planning resource district, an overlay planning district.
But unlike the MVC, the planning board has limited powers of review over the project.
In an opinion last fall, town counsel Michael Goldsmith found that under the Dover Amendment the planning board cannot “unreasonably condition” the project in a way that would deny the use. The Dover Amendment is a state law that allows religious and educational groups more latitude to skirt local bylaws.
A public hearing opened on Feb. 10, was continued to Feb. 24 and again to March 24. Thursday was the first opportunity for the high school to make its presentation.
Chris Huntress, the architect for the track and field complex, detailed plans for the project and the materials that will be used.
A two-layer track with a gel base and composite surface are proposed for the track. Mr. Huntress said that while the track would make use of SBR crumb rubber — a kind of rubber made largely from tires — the volume would be reduced by 78 per cent compared with the school’s existing track. He added the crumb rubber is all but necessary to allow for cushioning on the track and help prevent injuries for the school’s athletes.
“A harder track could provide shin splints to these growing athletes,” he said.
The proposed turf field, made with a woven synthetic turf and organic infill, will also include a shock pad underneath, Mr. Huntress said, to aid in preventing common injuries such as concussions that occur due to field impact.
“This is a player safety issue,” he said.
Proponents who spoke included Oak Bluffs finance and advisory committee member and former selectman Walter Vail. Citing third-party evaluations that determined the project would be safe for use and not pose a detriment to the town’s groundwater, Mr. Vail urged the board to move the process along.
“The student athletes on the 13 teams that utilize this field need a safe and reliable [facility],” he said.”
Brian Patrick Hall said the turf field would be an environmental benefit, positing that the amount of nitrogen needed to maintain the existing grass field could be harmful to drinking water.
“Please approve this special permit,” he said. “Don’t add nitrogen overload into the water.”
Others called for the board to acknowledge the dilemma facing student athletes, whose facilities are increasingly substandard compared with their mainland counterparts.
“I want to see my home supporting athletes the way I have seen elsewhere,” declared field hockey coach Rebecca Nutton.
Board chairman Ewell Hopkins continued the hearing to March 31 at 5:30 p.m., when opposition testimony will be taken.
Comments
Thank you Oak Bluffs Planning
native mv Martha's VineyardThank you Oak Bluffs Planning Board for standing strong regarding this detrimental project.
Wait. Wasnt the person
laurie david ChilmarkWait. Wasnt the person testifying on behalf of the turf's safety found to be
compromised? The Oak Bluffs Planning board is right to question the wisdom of artificial turf. There are other environmental harms besides amount of water used to water grass. How about forever chemicals leaching into the water systems and our bodies? How about shipping in truckloads of plastic to the island? The hubris that "artificial" anything is going to be better than what nature provides is what has gotten us into the climate mess we are in.
Another five years ? Beyond
George Stein Oak BluffsAnother five years ? Beyond comprehension this saga continues.
Did anyone notice that the
Stunned! IslandDid anyone notice that the previous meeting was a traffic study? What does that have to do with this special permit. The chair will have you believe it was relevant. Isn’t there already a track and stadium type field at the high school? So, I believe the chair is literally putting items on the agenda for this special permit that don’t get to the issue he is stalling for. Anyone notice that the chair has a warrant article for another member on the town meeting plan. I would speculate he is hoping to drag this process out until he gets a new member of his liking to break a potential deadlock vote. Otherwise why the waste of a meeting on a study that is of very questionable relevance to this particular permit? Looking ahead to the painfully obvious. Please board members read data only, ask questions about the data. Opinions don’t matter and please don’t fall victim to hours of opinion testimony either way that will go on for another 2 or three months. It is all part of a strategy. Ask yourself why it is happening this way while looking in the mirror. You may need to question your chair after doing so.
This reporter forgot to
richard Toole Oak BluffsThis reporter forgot to mention that due to time constraints, the Planning Board did not take testimony in opposition. This will be taken at the continued hearing next week. There were a lot of people on the Zoom prepared to share their concerns for why this may not be a good location for this artificial field.
I really do not understand
Frank Brunelle Vineyard HavenI really do not understand what is going on here. I played football for 6 years - junior high school and high school on the varsity team and we never had a problem with grass fields. There were of course, no artificial plastic fields in those days anyway. And I honestly can say I do not recall anyone being seriously injured. I mean, really. What the heck.
Rather than pushing to "hurry
Vicki Divoll ChilmarkRather than pushing to "hurry and get it done" and criticizing elected town boards for performing due diligence, MVRHS school officials and school committee should themselves be delaying the plans for a state-of-the-art Sports Complex with a synthetic field, 1000 person stadium, press box, field house and more.
First, let's consider priorities. Our high school building is crumbling and we are now struggling to reach a consensus among the towns on how to share among us paying for a new or rebuilt facility. If we fail to do so by September 1st, we will lose up to $40 million of state funding toward the $100 million plus price tag for a new school.
Second, we should look to Nantucket, which has recently put their own plans for a synthetic field on hold because of environmental concerns: “It’s clear there are a lot of concerns in the community around artificial turf. We’re taking a pause as an opportunity to continue to study all the options available and see what’s best for everybody,” Nantucket Superintendent Beth Hallett said.
Third, pressure coming from architect Chris Huntress, not an unbiased observer, arguing that the synthetic field is important for "player safety," is inappropriate, misleading, and emotional manipulation of islanders. In fact, the NFL players union is advocating for a return to grass fields, its president stating: "Players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf." At best, there are mixed opinions on whether artificial turf is better or worse for our students' health.
Fourth, no one has ever asked island voters if they even want a new Sports Complex with a synthetic field, and all the bells and whistles, and there is good reason to think that they may not. When MVRHS officials in 2019 asked island taxpayers for permission to spend $350,000 to pay for the design of a "track and synthetic field," one town voted a resounding NO, two towns voted YES in a close vote, and the select boards in three towns -- Tisbury, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown -- never even called a special town meeting to ask their voters for spending permission, so that counted as three YES votes, by default. The $350,000 was thereby "approved" and started flowing, soon became more than $500,000, and is still flowing today. So close votes in Aquinnah and West Tisbury are the only evidence of whether islanders want a synthetic field and/or the past/present/future cost to the taxpayers.
The tail is wagging the dog here. A handful of vocal, powerful people want this synthetic field Sports Complex, but do the rest of us? We need to focus on the process of funding a new school building and take a break from the expensive and divisive side show that is the Sports Complex. We need a pause and school officials and school committee members should be the first to ask for it, not fight it.
Thank you for laying out
Doug Ruskin West TisburyThank you for laying out several facts in an organized way. It is more than disappointing to see the school committee & superintendent's office draw this out for years - yes they actually could take a step back, do what's best for the students and start work on the fields by reconsidering the one field of several that are needed. Compromise is the path to results. One more fact, relating to the nitrogen issue: If applied properly (application personnel have to be trained and certified), the RIGHT AMOUNT of nitrogen is applied and the grass uses (absorbs) it, so most does NOT end up in the ponds.
I am all for natural grass;
edward spalding North Plam Beach / EdgartownI am all for natural grass; for the 50 years I have been coming to the Vineyward its always looked great. The last thing we need is more 'plastic'.
What I can't believe is how long what should have been decided in a couple of weeks/meetings has taken so long to deal with but then that kinda speaks to the way OB works, or doesn't work.
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