Chappaqua Turf Committee hits the $400,000-marker of $2 million goal
Monday, December 12, 2011
by Jim Nottingham
The Chappaqua Turf Committee (TC2) has been busy at work raising funds—$400,000 so far —for the artificial turf field at Horace Greeley High School that will benefit our many school and town sports teams. The new field will save the district considerable field maintenance, busing and cancellation costs. Help build this field of dreams and take advantage of the tax deduction this year by donating now.
Our goal is to raise $2 million through private donations and the sale of bricks for a walkway from the parking lot to the field. The bricks can be inscribed and come in three different sizes.
The pattern of the walkway is still being designed, but should be ready for public viewing by the end of December. Brick sales will begin at this point.
The committee already has raised in excess of $400,000. Visit our website, chappaquaturf.org to learn more.
Kudos to all the members of TC2, who have done a remarkable job in short period of time. Working together we can accomplish great things and make this turf field of dreams a reality by September 2011!
To donate, please send your checks to:
The Chappaqua Turf Committee
c/o Horace Greeley Sports Boosters, Inc.
PO Box 669
Chappaqua, New York 10514
Does anyone else here find it distasteful and perhaps unethical to put names of donors along this path on bricks by those who can afford it on a PUBLIC school property? Why not just have one sign saying donated by generosity of one committee. The HGHS signage should be reserved for titles EARNED by students like state titles, records, scholar athletes etc. does this mean coaches who see larger bricks are coerced into playing certain students? I am sure not but it is out there. I find this tactic to work on private schools and universities but has no place on our. Public school grounds. A few years back we rejected corporate sponsorship signage and this is no different. Please stop referring this as a field of dreams. What happens inside the walls of the classroom is where dreams are made .
You keep saying that maintenance costs will be lower…where are the numbers? I would like to see a chart of exactly how much savings we are looking at. Also will we have to bold more I surname because players tend to have more injuries playing on these fields?
The irony of this project continuing at a time when the school board is struggling with major cut backs is embarrassing. While the supporters will argue this is all private donations, we all know that it will not end up that way.
For example, it has been represented many times that this will be lower operation costs for the high school. On spokesperson indicated that it would be in the 50K/year range. I’ll bet they never remove that 50K from the budget.
Having a PLASTIC field is shameful. In 5 years when the school board is paying to have the field removed, we’ll all look back and wonder how we got scammed by a group of dads trying to relive their high school glory days.
I missed something here….did the School Board approve the installation of lights along with the construction of the turf competition field at the high school?
How much will lighting cost?? Is that covered by donations?? Or will we have to cut something else from the budget to come up with the funds?? Where’s the extra money coming from??? Any more extras not yet accounted for??
Will the lights be solar powered or will we pay for the extra electric in our school taxes??? Maybe if we charge students to participate in sports, the money could go towards these costs.
i heard from a science teacher in mahopac that their artificial turf field needs replacing years sooner than the manufacturer had promised.
also fox lane’s field is hitting replacement time.
this field of dreams could become a real nightmare financially and ecologically.
not to mention the MRSA, the messy clothes and shoes filled with rubber particles.
think twice folks, before wasting your money on this mess!
like we must show our children, we must think about the long run, not instant gratification and “looking good”
We brought our children here to live so they could enjoy a healthier and happy environment. I am feeling we made a mistake. The insatiable need for competition at any cost is vivid in the community. Even our neighbors older children will admit the dissatisfaction with the unhealthy level of competition, both academically and in school sports leave much to be desired. When asked, they seemed to enjoy growing up here enough, but would never let there kids do so! That’s remarkable!
Now with the instillation of plastic grass and the disconnect with environmental concerns, simply because the neighbor districts have capitulated, gives pause! We had hoped this would be an enlightened community that could think and act for itself.
The installation of turf on one field will not prevent injuries when practice and games are not scheduled on the coveted rubber grass.
There are no guarantees of non-injury when sports are now played at more intense levels than just a few years ago. Athletes attend specialized training to “up performance”. That intensity alone will drive an increase in serious injury. How much padding can you put on a field to prevent harm.
I had hope my children would learn to enjoy health competition.,
This stretch to rubber grass is a step to far for me to contribute.
I’m keeping my money out of this game and non-sense!
You people act as if turf fields are some new fad. They have been around almost 40 years and the newest generation are the safest and longest lasting yet. While it will require replacement and associated expenses years from now we will have saved many dollars because during those years no maintenance of the grass field will be required. A grass field needs to be cut, watered, fertilized, weeded, lined, and manicured. Most of these require weekly work and gas powered mowers are required (gas =pollution).
In the meantime, our kids (boys and girls- multiple sports) will be able to play and practice most of the year. No longer will teams need to be bused to other towns turf fields for Spring practices because our field is unplayable and unsafe.
Look around – are all these towns wrong and mistaken and are jeopardizing their children?
Pleasantville, Rye, Fox Lane, John Jay , Mahopac, Byram Hills, etc etc etc..
Get over it people – the same people worried about the environmental impact of these fields are the ones that drive their kids to school in their big SUV’s instead of putting their kids on the bus. How many cars and how much pollution and congestion is created by this daily exercise? Imagine how many fewer cars would be on the road if you used the buses we are already paying for!
I find it ironic and sad that at a time that the CCSD needs to find $2M to cut from next year’s budget, a group of parents is blithely raising $2M for a plastic football field. The priorities here are all screwed up. We need to be teaching kids to read, and to write research papers, not ramping up competitive sports.
To Taking your kids hiking- there are an infinite number of places in and around our beautiful community that you may take your children on a hike. There are numerous places you and your family can commune with nature. Because we have thousands of children (boys and girls) in our town and many are engaged in athletic activities at all levels from youth sports to varsity athletics, we need facilities to accommodate them. We already are constrained and having one turf field - lets be clear - we are talking about ONE turf field will allow many more users, many more weeks/months of the year. It will also allow night games which will allow the community to come out and cheer on our kids.
Now what’s so bad having one turf field in or midst. If you think the “plastic” will harm your children then take them for a hike somewhere else.
as “get a life” admitted, it isn’t a new fad. but it is a fad. and a foolish one at that. mahopac and mt kisco are feeling the remorse now money wise.
the next ten years will not be like the previous ones. economic collapse, resource depletion and climate change/runaway global warming will make haggling over a stupid $2 million fake field of plastic a moot point.
those funds are better spent caring about each other instead.
Does anyone know if the School Board has approved the installation of lights on the competition field?.....as to the reduction of the ongoing maintenance cost of the plastic field, will the number of facilities employee positions at the high school be cut to reap the savings? or will there just be less for the existing employees to do now? If no employees are fired, then I don’t see the savings.
Editor’s Note: Yes, the project is for an illuminated turf field. According to Jim Nottingham, lights will be high-tech zero-edge lighting, designed to shine in the direction they are aimed, to the field.
What is the state of those fields from 40 years ago-or even 20 years.
What are the real cost in removal and replacment to the community.
What happens to the material after removal.
Does it go to land fills or is it recycled into new turf.
Is it true that turf fields need no watering in the hot months or require any weekly care.
What is the cost that neighbor districts have spend to maintain fields or have identified as cost savings.
Do these fields require on-going maintenance to relevel the in-field movement from play
Do they require sanitizing.
These questions should not be part of an argument, they should be answered for clarity. And before money is given to further the project.
Unless there is a comparative study that shows the cost savings that surrounding districts have experienced, there is no reason to believe any real money will be saved. Turf fields need maintenance! They need grooming,disinfecting and repair. They also require water. Not for growing, but as part of the disinfecting of contaminants and mold. The exact process from grass might be different, but it is still labor intense and requires knowledgeable staff to do it. There are management companies that provide these services for facilities that install turf.
Has it been determined by the Bd of Ed. if a maintenance contract will be part of this decision, or do we have staff to handle the upkeep?
and who is gonna pay to replace this hunk of rubber when it wears out? tell me how this is not a future tax on the town?
will there be another group of gung ho booster peeps in 5-8 years from now?
The field and lights will be paid for privately. Only one field will be turf all others will remain grass. There will be plenty of grass fields for our children to graze on. If people want to spend their money on a turf field that is their business and anyone injecting the argument we need the money for education then you can blame your elected offcials for that. That new middle school is reaking havoc on our budget and as it turns out we probably won’t even need it in 10 years. So whine to your elected offcials about the cost reductions in the classroom it is their fault not the turf committee.
Grass field are more expensive to maintain (leveling, watering, reseeding, fertilizers…) So even if we kept grass the field would still require maintenance so lets not pretend the turf has to be maintained while grass does not.
The names of the sponsors of this mistake, along with the names of the misguided donors should be cast in concrete at the entrance so that in 5 years when this ridiculous project is old, torn, and in need of total replacement, we know who to send the bill to for the additional $M we all know this is going to need. Of course we know that’s not going to happen, and the burden will flow to the tax payer.
Dirt, spit, blood, plastic equipment scrapes, charcoal face grease, Gatorade don’t deteriorate due to natural processes like they do with grass.
In five year the field is going to be a dirty, torn and patched, wrinkly unwashed floor mat.
How classy.
Have you ever heard of rain??? but even without it, how dare we let our kids play on a field that has dirt on it!!!
Please do some research before you take your complaints to this website…
Has anybody asked the question? Who will be in charge…. of the “Every Day Logistics Of This Operation”?
I generally support this project but it seems that there must be studies that quantify the savings that the turf will produce, if any. Let’s not talk in general statements and get some good, hard facts
