Commissioner discusses how turf field came about

As a member of the Recreation and Parks Commission in Marlboro, and having been a participant in the commission’s decisions, I feel it is incumbent upon me to offer some clarification about the much talked about turf field.

The commission began an exploration process in connection with the viability of placing synthetic turf on some of our township’s fields a number of years ago, as a means of saving on field maintenance. We realized that as a township we were running out of property that could be used to build additional fields necessary to meet our recreational needs in this growing community.

Pop Warner football, one of the township’s popular youth programs, had been playing on the municipal complex field for many years and began to experience a surge in player registration and extraordinary wear and tear on this field. With only one field suitable for play and this field being shared with an already crowded soccer program, the need for an expansion or an additional site was evident. This scenario was brought to the Township Council and the administration who wanted to find a viable solution for this program.

Some alternative field options were presented to the Pop Warner program who could not use the sites that were presented due to various field requirements and location.

The question of what to do was moved to the Recreation and Parks Commission, which had begun to explore the use of synthetic turf with presentations being made to the commission from various manufacturers and trips to other synthetic turf fields throughout the state. It was noted that with a synthetic turf in place the field would require minimal maintenance and could absorb continuous play including right after inclement weather.

The commission made the suggestion of placing turf on the municipal complex field, thus permitting use for not only football, but also for soccer and lacrosse. The field could now accommodate more than one youth program and filled a need in our township.

At the same time, the commission was addressing the need to accommodate the growing soccer program. Plans were being formulated to reconfigure the lower back soccer fields (those formerly known as H&L fields), referred to as Recreation Park Phase 2. This new configuration would provide a number of small sized fields for our pee wee and junior soccer programs. With the need being more prevalent for the multipurpose field, it was decided to move forward with the synthetic turf field and to hold off on the other aspect of this project.

Although it should be noted that the commission is not involved with how these projects are funded, we were informed that both grants and matching funds were in place. It is my hope that I have offered some clarification and some history on this subject.

Jeff Katz Recreation and Parks Commissioner

Marlboro