The plan is not dead. But more details are needed.

Barrington School Committee members shared that message regarding the Town Council’s proposal to build a synthetic turf field at the middle school. 

During the School Committee meeting on Thursday night, March 14, TJ Peck and Patrick McCrann voiced concerns about the plan, which calls for the construction of synthetic turf field across a section of the middle school property. The proposal, which was shared by Town Council Vice President Rob Humm, also includes lights so the new field could be used at night. 

The Council recently approved two motions aimed at improving athletic fields in town. The first was to propose a $5 million bond — $4.5 million would be earmarked for the improvement of athletic fields. And the second motion called for the members of the School Committee to discuss the potential construction of a synthetic turf field at the middle school. 

During that discussion on Thursday night, Peck asked Humm if there was an “appetite” for earmarking a portion of the $5 million bond to address other school needs as they relate to athletic fields and facilities. 

Peck said it would be a loss for the community if the proposed field improvements did not include upgrades at Barrington High School.

McCrann offered a related concern. 

The School Committee Chairman said his assumption was that if synthetic turf fields are built at the middle school then those fields would still end up being used predominantly by BHS student-athletes. McCrann said that would limit youth sports from accessing the new fields, and also leave some of the high school fields sitting unused. 

McCrann asked for clarity on the utilization of the proposed turf fields at the middle school. He said he wanted to know how the fields would be shared. 

Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore said that was a question for BHS Director of Athletics George Finn. He said Finn and the town’s Recreation Director Michele Geremia usually coordinate field scheduling. 

Humm said he had already spoken with Finn, and that he was strongly in favor of the proposal. 

McCrann also said he wanted to see details of the assumptions on why the Town Council had selected the middle school property for the synthetic turf fields and not followed the recommendations made in a recent report. A town-hired consultant, Traverse Landscape Architects, identified the high school’s Victory Field and St. Andrew’s Farm Field as the two best locations for synthetic turf in town.

Some Council members have voiced opposition to installing synthetic turf at Victory Field and St. Andrew’s Farm Field. 

During a meeting in January, Council member Kate Berard said Chianese Field seemed to be the only option for synthetic turf. She said there were two reasons she was opposed to installing synthetic turf at the high school or St. Andrew’s Farm Field. 

“Number one, the amount of birds that exist at the high school,” Berard said, apparently referring to the Canada geese that frequent the field. “Constantly, it’s a migration path. And the fact that it’s in a flood plain. 

“Additionally the cross between school financing and town financing and the amount of time that school players would spend, not that they’re not obviously members of our community. Of course they are, but that tends to be limited to that particular pool of athletes.”

The plan to install synthetic turf at Chianese Field later drew significant push-back from residents who live in that area of town. Humm scrapped the Chianese plan and returned to the March meeting with the proposal to construct a synthetic turf field at the middle school. 

The proposal passed by a 3-2 vote at the Council meeting in March. Annelise Conway and Carl Kustell voted against the plan — Conway and Kustell said they were opposed to synthetic turf. Kustell said he preferred a plan to install hybrid turf, which is a synthetic material that is woven into the natural grass surface. Kustell said that product costs less and is more environmentally friendly. 

What’s next?

No vote was taken at the March 14 School Committee meeting regarding the middle school turf plan. Committee members have asked for more details about the plan, including who would be responsible for paying for the synthetic turf replacements in the future.