By Shawnee Baldwin
What would you do if you found out that something highly toxic was in your back yard without your knowledge or permission? Yet somehow you paid for it, but no one asked you if you needed it or wanted it. In addition, you learn that the thing is past its shelf life and for some more exorbitant fees it will be removed and replaced ($900,000 at a minimum). And you will pay for it again. What would you do? What will you do? What am I talking about?
Artificial Turf (AT)is back on the docket for future budget consideration. Not just the replacement of one field that is 12 years old (2-4 years past the manufacturers recommended life span) but the installation of two additional fields.
A strength and conditioning facility was recently erected at the high school at a cost that went way over its estimate. The taxpayer was never asked to weigh in on that project either. The cost was underestimated so as not to trigger that tipping point to call for a referendum.
When it comes to the AT issue, members at BOE meetings are reminded, “you voted for this” so it’s not a matter of “if” but “how” to make it happen. Does that mean that if new facts come to light a board member can’t change their mind and become the salmon who swims upstream against the tide and says, “not anymore”?
The AT Industry is “greenwashing” potential buyers with claims that it is no longer made of PFAS. Please remember it is ALL unrecyclable, chemical-filled, fossil-fuel generated plastic and with the amount of activity on the surface there are plenty of microplastics that break off and cause their own set of health issues.
Do we really want to invest in a project that goes against our sustainable purchasing policy, and will constantly have its hand in our wallets while posing health risks to our young people and to those who have to maintain the fields? If the environmental concerns don’t bother you, let me remind you of the price tag that you are paying through your taxes:
*New Installation cost? $1.25 MILLION each (today’s price tag) for 40,000 POUNDS of heat-retaining plastic – a fossil fuel product – disposable but not recyclable. $10.25 per square foot vs. $5.00 per square foot for organic turf.
*Removal & Replacement cost? $900,000. Needs replacing every 8-10 years. When removed, two feet of contaminated soil underneath the whole structure also needs to be removed and replaced.
Last time I checked money does not grow on trees but it sure can be obtained through grants, willing donors, and federal or state funding. But the availability of money to cover the cost of something toxic and environmentally damaging should not be the leading factor in its procurement no matter how much it claims to boost an athletic program.
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