If Barrington’s athletic fields are important to you, I encourage you to attend the Financial Town Meeting (FTM) on Wednesday, May 22 at Barrington High School.

The FTM is your opportunity to vote to approve the funding to improve the Town’s athletic fields, including the funding that would support a proposal for the installation of a synthetic turf athletic field at the Barrington Middle School (which will be the subject of a separate vote in November). If people do not attend the FTM, the proposal will not pass. 

A vote to approve the field bond at the FTM will help to address Barrington’s longstanding problems with its athletic fields, including the fact that there are not enough fields in Town; the existing fields in Town are overused; the existing fields in Town are in poor condition because of their overuse; the Town lacks available land for additional fields; and, importantly, the Town is unable to rest its existing fields. For example, approval of the field bond would enable the funding for a synthetic turf field at BMS, which would directly address all of these longstanding problems. To be clear, however, the vote at the FTM is not for or against a synthetic turf field. Rather, the FTM vote is simply for the funding to improve the Town’s athletic fields. 

Specifically, the vote at the FTM is to approve a $5 million municipal bond to improve the Town’s athletic fields. There will be a second vote at the November 2024 election on whether to approve the installation of the synthetic turf field at BMS. I encourage voters to approve both. For this to happen, the funding needs to pass first at the FTM on May 22. 

If the $5 million municipal bond is approved at the FTM, and if the vote for a synthetic turf field at BMS is approved at the November 2024 election, then the $5 million municipal bond will fund the installation of the synthetic turf field at BMS – up to $4.5 million of which will go towards the field, and the balance towards an important infrastructure project. If the vote for a synthetic turf field at BMS is not approved at the November 2024 election, then the $5 million municipal bond will be used for other important field improvement projects presented in a comprehensive report prepared by an outside field consultant for the Town. 

So, please attend the FTM and vote in favor of the field bond. Thank you for your public engagement.

Best regards,

Robert Humm
Barrington

Robert Humm is Barrington Town Council Vice President.