Politics & Government

Turf Talk Turns To Finances And Health

Friends and foes of the artificial turf proposal that failed earlier this month at town meeting met on Thursday to talk about what's next for meeting the town's field needs.

 

Fifteen people vented feelings Thursday and mused on what's next for meeting the town's athletic field needs.

It was an informal meeting at Town Hall organized by resident Richard Feinberg.

Find out what's happening in Swampscottwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It included those who backed and those who opposed the artificial turf proposal that failed to gain the necessary two-thirds majority vote from town meeting members earlier this month.

In the end the room appeared in agreement on two things.

Find out what's happening in Swampscottwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One was this: consideration of any new field proposal would start with the financial component.

The town administrator and selectmen would need to determine what capital funds could be applied to a project.

The other item the room appeared in favor of was the Board of Health studying alternative field surfaces and presenting a recommendation to selectmen.

Dr. Lawrence Block said he is confident a healthy alternative can be found.

He said after the meeting that he expects the board will start on such a study at its next meeting.

Feinberg said during Thursday's meeting that the artificial field proposal failed for three reasons: money; health concerns; and a failure to properly explain the project and its funding.

Much of the discussion revolved around these three items.

Proponents agreed their side could have done a better job explaining the proposal and its financial implications.

But they also said their presenters were not allotted enough time to make a proper presentation and that opponents spread misinformation about the proposal.

Opponents said the public was not involved enough in assembling the proposal and that many people in town are too financially burdened to support another big ticket item.

Those who attended included selectmen David Van Dam, Glenn Kessler and Jill Sullivan, former selectman Matt Strauss, Recreation Director Danielle Strauss, Public Works Director Gino Cresta, Finance Committee Chairman Michael McClung, Conservation Commission member Nelson Kessler, Board of Health members Lawrence Block and Martha Dansdill, residents Tom Driscoll, Martin Goldman and Gene Barden, and School Facilities Director Garrett Baker.

 

 

surveyed the landscape 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here