News

Chatham Township moving forward on Shunpike Field

Friday, October 30, 2009, 2:43PM
Independent Press

Environmental Commission wants new, ‘green,’ infill material considered for turf

CHATHAM TWP. — The Township Committee is preparing to go out to bid for the renovation of the Shunpike Field complex after making some changes to the field design based on feedback from residents in the Sunset Lake neighborhood, adjacent to the field.

Neighbors of the field brought their concerns to the Planning Board meeting in September and the committee’s recent meeting on Oct. 22, during which the committee worked to address most of those issues.

“We have been very responsive to the neighbors’ concerns and we will continue to be responsive as we move forward with this project,” said Township Administrator Tom Ciccarone, who also lives by the field complex.

Township Engineer John Ruschke detailed the changes at last Thursday’s meeting which had several Sunset Lake neighbors in attendance. At issue were the changes to the swath of wooded land that acts as a buffer zone separating the lower field from the neighborhood. Neighbors were concerned with the potential for tree removal and encroachment to that area that would increase the impact to their neighborhood.

Ruschke explained that they were able to reduce the width of the field from 200 feet to 185 feet, revise the ‘run out’ area from 25 to 15 feet, eliminate the plan for bleachers along the neighborhood side and significantly reduce the numbers of trees to be removed down to only two. He also said the buffer area will be cleaned out of rotted wood and debris and replanted to make the buffer fuller and more attractive. A fence along the turf field section and along the buffer was also proposed by the residents to further separate their neighborhood.

“The general consensus of the committee has been to satisfy the needs of the residents,” said Mayor Kevin Tubbs. “If we need to put up an additional fence with a gate, then we can work that out.”

Members of the Environmental Commission have also voiced concerns about the type of turf field to be installed in the complex. “The Environmental Commission and other interested citizens asked the committee to allow for bids on safer, newer alternative infills to the tire crumb infill in the artificial turf field we will invest in,” said commission member Kathy Abbott. “These alternatives were not available when Lum Field was being planned but, they are now. It is important for residents to know that tire crumb has 50% natural rubber and the rest is 60 different chemicals of which there are many known and suspected human carcinogens.” Abbott has provided the committee with background on this, including documents from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center.

The 2008 document from the EPA addresses the potential risks of tire crumb infill proposing study to assess the toxicological risks. “My staff has reviewed the public research on the safety of tire crumb and has found information suggesting that children’s chronic, repeated exposure to tire crumb could present health hazards. However, sufficient data to quantify toxicological risks from tire crumb exposure were not available,” said Stephen Tuber of the EPA in a memo from January 2008.

The Mount Sinai document was part of its testimony to the Hartford, Connecticut’s Environmental Committee detailing its concern with synthetic fields in general. “A number of these very expensive fields were installed with little or no consideration of possible negative effects,” the report said. “Now we are suddenly beginning to realize that synthetic turf fields may be associated with health problems in children.” The report sites the increased heat associated with turf fields that can increase the risk of heat stress or stroke; outbreaks of MRSA skin infections and the inhalation and ingestion of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. “The major chemical components of crumb rubber are Styrene, which is a neurotoxin, and Butadiene, which is a proven human carcinogen. The crumb rubber pellets also contain lead, cadmium and other metals,” the report read. “There is a potential for these toxins to be inhaled, absorbed through the skin and even swallowed by children playing on turf fields.”

Commission member Lydia Chambers would like the committee to consider new infill materials, most of which are made of TPE/thermoplastic, not shredded tires. In an e-mail she stated that there are several benefits to the alternative infill including significant reductions in heat radiation by using lighter colors, the fill is completely recyclable and it is odor and dust free with no concerns about carcinogens.

Ruschke said that to address the concerns raised by the environmental commission, the alternate bids will include the use of different types of fill including crumb rubber and TPE materials.

Committee member Bill O’Connor took a pragmatic view stating, “The committee will have to take a look at the financial impact of using an alternative product, as well as the comparative performance of the surface, and look at the cost benefit.”

Committee member Bailey Brower took a different view. “We have got to get this project moving,” he said. “I have not heard or read any information that states that crumb rubber is dangerous to children. It is all hearsay. Let’s get the fields redone and open for play.”

The committee unanimously voted to accept the revised field plans and go out to bid for the renovations, which are expected to top $1.2 million. This is the second field renovation spearheaded by the Chatham Athletic Foundation whose members formed an interlocal partnership with the borough and the township to renovate fields used by the joint recreation program.

CAF President Tom Winter thanked the committee for its hard work in getting the field renovation approved. “You’ve done a lot of work over the past two years to get this field approved – it was no small feat,” he said. “We have approved our share of the funds and are ready to move forward.” Both towns and the CAF will provide one-third each of the costs up to a maximum of $350,000. Because of other changes to the field complex, the costs may exceed that amount but Winter said that the CAF hopes to raise more money to help the township defray those costs.

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