Moorestown Council Consider Pros And Cons Of Artificial Turf At Wesley Bishop Park

MOORESTOWN, NJ — A proposed bond ordinance calling for Moorestown to appropriate $650,000 and borrow $578,672 in bonds or notes to replace the synthetic turf field on the middle field at Wesley Bishop Park is not related to The Star Ledger’s series last year that revealed that FieldTurf sold faulty turf to 1,428 schools and public parks between 2006 and 2012.

Although the field that is down now was sold by FieldTurf, township officials said during Monday night’s meeting at town hall that they looked into the possibility of pursuing litigation, but found no evidence that the field they were sold was faulty.

Instead, the proposal, passed unanimously by council on introduction, calls for the replacement of a field that has undergone 10 years of wear and tear.

“We’ve been using the field since 2007,” Township Manager Tom Merchel said. “It failed the Gmax test last year.”

He said not replacing the field would put the seasons of those who use it in jeopardy. The township was unable to move forward with the replacement last year, and he said it must be done this year.

Despite the clarification, the issue of safety was raised by a resident who was concerned by an NBC News report that was published in 2015 that raised the possibility of a connection between the crumb rubber from recycled tires used in some artificial turf and the diagnosis of cancer in 38 college soccer players, specifically goalies.

“Safety is a part of the interview process with the manufacturers,” Scott Taylor of Taylor Design Group said.
He also cited a recent statement by scientists that say they don’t know that there is a direct connection between artificial turf and cancer.

Another resident expressed fear that if there is something in the turf that can be linked to cancer, it may get into the township’s water supply, but officials said the turf is stable and wouldn’t contaminate the water.
These residents and Councilwoman Lisa Petriello suggested the township look at the possibility of using natural grass rather than replacing the existing artificial turf with more artificial turf.

“Most of us weren’t on council and we didn’t decide that we wanted artificial turf, and it’s expensive,” Petriello said. “Do we really need it?”

Deputy Mayor Stacey Jordan said she was on council when the decision was made, and although she wasn’t in favor of it at first, she came to see the benefits of using turf as opposed to natural grass. She said she feels safe allowing her four children to play on that field.

Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano said she also grew to like turf after initially being opposed.

Councilman Mike Locatell said natural grass isn’t free and, with the maintenance needed, can be more expensive than turf. He said he wasn’t concerned about safety issues, and that both he and his son play on that field.

Taylor added that to compensate the number of teams that use the field, the township would need to install three or four grass fields.

“Turf fields have an eight-year warranty and can perform longer,” Taylor said.

Moorestown Soccer Club President Joe Hanuscin also supported the proposal.

“When we heard we might lose our field, we were distraught about that,” Hanuscin said, adding it would be difficult to find a place to practice and play. “There are not enough fields to support all these clubs, and grass fields take a beating.”

Supporters also said the more a grass field is used, the less safe it becomes.

The proposal includes a $71,328 down payment. The public hearing and final vote on the proposed ordinance is set for Feb. 6.

Patch file photo