Turf Field Usage Up For Discussion at Parsippany Board Meeting

The Parsippany-Troy Hills School District Board of Education is inviting the community to learn more about and discuss the use of the newly constructed turf fields at each of the high schools in the district.

The meeting will be held Thursday, Aug. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education building.

The turf fields came about this year after the board of education approved the expenditure of $2,533,000 to complete the project. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in early May.

Two years earlier a referendum vote was held with residents asked to support or decline a $7.7 million project for turf fields and other upgrades to both high schools, but was defeated by 628 votes out of more than 4,000 cast.

The total cost at Parsippany High School comes to $1,408,000, which includes turf field construction, track resurface, and project cost. The total cost at Parsippany Hills High School is $1,125,000, which includes $900,000 for turf field construction and $225,000 for project cost.

The project is expected to be complete by the second week of September, according to the Board of Education’s outline.

The school district claims as a result of the artificial fields, there will be an annual savings of $110,000 for former field maintenance costs, with a cost of $300,000 to $400,000 every eight-to-12 years to resurface the turf fields.