More than six months after the Barrington School Committee voted 5-0 to renovate the Victory Field athletic complex with a new synthetic turf surface and a new track, a large group of residents turned out to argue for and against the project. 

At the Jan. 9 meeting, residents shared a variety of opinions on the already-approved project — some people praised the earlier vote (it took place July 18, 2024) and pleaded with school committee members to stay the course, while others called the project an “end run around the public’s will” and that the November turf referendums clearly signaled the majority of voters did not want turf fields in town. 

One resident, former Barrington Town Council member Kate Weymouth, spoke about a petition signed by approximately 200 residents who allegedly want to join a class action lawsuit against the school committee.

At the end of the hour-long public comment period, Barrington School Committee Chairman TJ Peck offered an update on the project. 

He said designs for the new Victory Field complex are currently being finalized. Peck said the school committee would likely vote on the design in March, which would allow enough time for crews to begin construction this summer. 

For and against

The public comment period at the Jan. 9 meeting started out with three residents opposed to the Victory Field synthetic turf project. Each resident, one of whom was Barrington Energy and Resilience Committee member Hans Scholl, offered different reasons why they did not want turf in town. Scholl pointed to the November election and the two questions surrounding synthetic turf. 

The next four speakers supported the project, the need for better athletic facilities, and the process used. 

Jen Gill thanked the school committee and said the previous committee did a great job putting together the plan for the project. She also reminded people at the meeting that residents had elected the school committee members who made the decision to approve the Victory Field athletic complex. Gill said it was hard to believe that the issue was coming up again. 

The November ballot questions surfaced during the comments shared by many of the residents who opposed the construction of a synthetic turf field. 

One ballot question had asked if voters approved the construction of a turf field at the middle school. The other question asked if they approved the construction of a turf field at a municipal property. Voters rejected both questions by 60 percent to 40 percent margins. 

Jessica Allen said the school committee was ignoring the will of taxpayers by proceeding with plans for a synthetic turf field.

Peck acknowledged that the turf ballot questions were a bit confusing, but said the use of the word “municipal” when describing fields was very important. Victory Field is a school field. 

Peck encouraged residents who have concerns about the language used on the ballot questions to take it up with town councilors. 

School committee member Tim McNamara said people told him that they voted “No” on the turf ballot questions because they knew a synthetic turf field at Barrington High School had already been approved. He said people told him that they believed one synthetic turf field in town was enough. 

Environmental concerns were also discussed. Some residents, including Andy Reich and Blaise Rein, said the synthetic turf field posed a danger to the surrounding environment.

Meanwhile, Barrington High School student Ellie Donato said the town uses a lot of pesticides and fertilizer on Victory Field which is bad for the environment.

Barrington Park and Recreation Commission member Tom Rimoshytus said the town tried to use only organic products to maintain the local athletic fields in the past, but it did not work and officials had to switch back to non-organic treatments.

Some residents pressed hard for the school committee to rescind its previous decision. 

Weymouth said there was a petition that asked people if they wanted to join a class action lawsuit against the school committee; she said approximately 200 people have signed the petition. 

Andy Reich said he would not support any future school budgets should the committee follow through with the Victory Field project.