Voters Approve Artificial Turf for Blocksidge Field

Swampscott voters put their support behind a multi-sport, artificial turf field at Monday night’s session of the 2015 Annual Town Meeting.

Voters overwhelmingly passed a proposal for the $1.65 million project at Blocksidge/Philips Park, according to the Daily Item. That approval, however, is contingent on a chunk of money for part of the project being raised through private donations.

The All Blue Foundation is handling the fundraising for the project and, according to a post on that organization’s Facebook page, voters agreed to raise $300,000 prior to May 1, 2016 in order to pay for a home grandstand.

In 2012, a proposal to fund improvements to Blocksidge Field failed to garner the two-thirds majority vote needed to borrow the $1.9 million. At the time, the proposal raised health concerns as the recommended artificial surface was to be composed of “crumbled rubber,” which some people argued contained toxic chemicals. The new proposal calls for a “healthy infill product” instead of the crumbled rubber.

The article that passed in 2015, however, will require only $800,000 to be borrowed, the Daily Item reported.

To see the full breakdown of funding for the project, as well as additional details, check out the Daily Item report.