On Thursday night, members of the Barrington School Committee shared their plan for renovating the Victory Field athletic complex at Barrington High School.

The plan calls for a new track, a new synthetic turf surface that will properly accommodate multiple sports, new lighting, and no bill for taxpayers to worry about. 

TJ Peck led the presentation. Peck referenced the well-documented need — from sports teams, coaches and the school’s director of athletics — for improved athletic facilities at the high school. 

He said the track oval at Barrington High School is one of the worst in the state. He said Victory Field, which was originally built to accommodate football games only, has been playing host to multiple other sports for the last 25 years although the dimensions of the playing surface are “barely within regulation” and “not ideal.” Officials have also documented the substandard playing surface at Victory Field.

Peck then showed the vision for the future: He offered a rendering completed by Gale Associates, a company that specializes in athletic complexes. On the screen was the image of a new athletic surface, a new eight-lane track, two relocated light poles and other details. In the center of the field was the Barrington High School Eagles logo.

Peck said the synthetic turf field would feature the highest level of shock-absorbing material; he said it would be entirely recyclable; and he said it would feature the most environmentally-friendly infill.

Peck said he plans to make a motion at the Barrington School Committee meeting in July to approve the plan and put the wheels in motion for a renovated Victory Field. 

He said money from the district’s capital reserve account — the account currently has $5.8 million in it — will pay for the project.

The total cost of the project, including all design and construction work, is $4.5 million, Peck said. 

Peck said the Town Council was not going to approve use of the $5 million fields bond for the Victory Field project. He said that the town would not support going out for an additional bond. 

Peck also said that while the $250 million school construction bond included some language opening the door for field improvements, that would only be if there was surplus money remaining after the school building construction. He also said that using possible surplus from the $250 million bond would delay any athletic field and track improvements until 2029 or 2030. 

The presentation pointed to three factors that supported the plan to improve the Victory Field complex: 1. The dire need of the facility; 2. An inflated capital reserve account that currently holds $5.8 million; and 3. The $250 million school buildings project which will be addressing the district’s construction needs. 

Put it out there

Peck said he was sharing the presentation with the public so people would have an opportunity to discuss the project before the July School Committee meeting. 

Committee member Megan Douglas wondered where the town’s residents stood on synthetic turf. She referenced the November referendum vote for a separate fields project at the middle school. 

Committee member Frazier Bell asked if the School Committee’s plan would need a vote from residents. Peck said it did not need a vote by taxpayers.

Peck said the improvement of school grounds rests solely with the School Committee. 

Peck also challenged anyone who wished to turn this into a political issue. He said the athletic fields problem in town was 40 years in the making. Peck welcomed the public to get involved.

Bell shared his support for the plan. He said he researched synthetic turf and found that it is likely the best option for the BHS facility. He said there is a lot of fear-mongering that takes place around synthetic turf, but, he added, the synthetic turf surface would fare better than natural grass if there was a flood event. 

Peck said that if the synthetic turf surface was ever flooded, officials would only need to rinse the surface with fresh water and then play could continue. 

Douglas said people were more worried about the infill material washing out of the field in a flood event. She said she was neutral on the topic. Douglas said there were pros and cons and wanted to see what most residents thought about the Victory Field plan. 

Chairman Patrick McCrann said the School Committee has made tough decisions in the past. He mentioned the School Committee’s vote to push back school start times — an issue that Douglas supported and that received push-back from the community.

Douglas later said she gets nervous if the the capital reserve account dropped too low. She then asked other Committee members if they had been protecting the capital reserve account recently, redirecting expenditures that would otherwise have tapped into the capital reserve account. 

School Finance Director Doug Fiore said that was not the case. He said the School Committee had actually used the capital reserve account to pay for the modular classroom units at Primrose Hill School. 

The Barrington School Committee has meetings planned for June 20, July 1 and July 18.