We would like to invite the public to a presentation and information session on Thursday, May 24, 2018, at 7 P.M. in the Tappan Zee High School Library. The topic of the presentation will be the Tappan Zee High School Stadium Turf Field Replacement Project. A “Q&A” will follow the presentation, and we will be joined by the SOCSD Facilities Committee and members of the community who have served for the past several months on the Turf Field Replacement Committee. Also in attendance will be our architectural firm and engineers who specialize in synthetic sports turf replacement.
The presentation will cover the various options available to school districts that use synthetic sports turf on their athletic fields. Also discussed will be the decision criteria that are used to select a system that is engineered for performance and safety. We appreciate the work that our “Turf Committee” went through to recommend a system that will benefit our students and community. Lastly, the presentation will discuss the costs and implementation timeline.
This presentation is especially critical in light of some of the recent stories in the media related to health concerns that are possibly linked to materials used in synthetic turf fields – specifically, the use of recycled automobile tires to provide the crumb rubber “infill” on playing surfaces. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published research on this topic at: https://www.epa.gov/chemical-research/federal-research-recycled-tire-crumb-used-playing-fields
The Turf Committee has considered natural alternatives to the crumb rubber (EPDM) infill in its review and will help guide the discussion of the design of the Tappan Zee turf field system. Such alternatives include plant-based “Geofill” made of coconut fibers, walnut shells, or natural sand. We will discuss the “pros and cons” of these various systems and select the one that best meets the needs of our community. An example of a Geofill sports turf field (installed in 2006) can be seen at nearby Suffern Middle School. In this example, the school district considered the anecdotal evidence that suggested a relationship between crumb rubber infill and cancer rates and subsequently opted for the installation of the coconut husk-based alternative.
Thank you to the Tappan Zee High School PTA for allowing this important topic to be included on their May 24 meeting agenda. Because this sports turf replacement has such a widespread impact on our entire community, we feel that it is essential to have an open dialogue with as many stakeholders as possible. The Tappan Zee High School Stadium is a vital public asset to this community, and we are looking forward to having you join the discussion on May 24.