District: Rutgers Expert Says Field Drainage OK

Seed, seed and then seed some more.

A Rutgers Cooperative Extension consultant has advised the school district the best way to improve the grass football field at is to oversaturate the field with grass seed at the end of the football season and then cover the field with a cloth for the winter.

Then, the district would need to decide whether its six lacrosse teams could use the field in the spring, Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried said. District business administrator James Tevis said he would check to see if Camp Dawson is available for the lacrosse teams.

With the intensity of use by lacrosse, the field could fall back into poor condition quickly, Fried said.

District officials said Rutgers has told them the field's drainage is fine, but there are low spots that need to be aerated, filled and seeded.

Voters surface and drainage system in a special election in September.

People on both sides felt strongly about the issue, with supporters saying artificial turf would be safer, used more and would cost less than a grass field in the long run due to lower maintenance costs and lower transportation costs because high school athletes would not need to be bused to other fields as often.

Some residents said the grass field could have been maintained for less than the cost of installing artificial turf, and that they would have rather seen the surplus used on other projects.

Tevis said the district would meet with a Rutgers expert on Oct. 25 and would determine a cost estimate. There is not expected to be a significant expense for the cloth or extra grass seed, but did the district did not yet have an estimated figure.

Fried said the district still is considering what it might do with a $1.5 million surplus, including maintenance projects at the schools and purchasing educational language software for the elementary schools.

Fried said artificial turf still would be the best option because natural grass won't sustain use the field gets.