Written by Carol P. Bartold

Dec. 3, 2014: The Bronxville Board of Education has approved a plan to replace Hayes Field, currently a natural grass surface, with synthetic turf following the completion of the joint village and school flood mitigation project that is scheduled to begin in January of 2015.

At a special December 1 board meeting, Denise Tormey, board president, noted that, of necessity, the flood mitigation project involves digging up Hayes Field to install a water retention system. That factor enabled the board to consider options for reconfiguring Hayes Field to address the district's shortage of field space.

"We're confident that the final design will represent the very best outcome we can provide while maximizing the use of our limited acreage," Tormey said.

The board approved resolutions at the special meeting to schedule a referendum for January 22, 2015, when voters will vote separately on two propositions.

The first proposition would authorize a $900,000 bond issue to fund the school district's share of the $7 million flood mitigation project.

The second proposition would allow the district to use up to $2.2 million from its district-wide improvements capital reserve fund to pay for the cost of the Hayes Field reconfiguration.

The board also approved a resolution to appoint KG&D Architects as architect for both the flood mitigation project and the Hayes Field project.

"The two projects represent the outcome of a lengthy and productive discussion among the district, the Village of Bronxville, parents, and community members," Tormey said. She added that the board of education has carefully considered all information available, from individual members' research as well as from comments and materials forwarded to it by parents and community members.

Tormey indicated that the board will continue to work with the village and the professionals involved in the project to refine such details as the placement and number of parking spaces, the configuration of the elementary school play area, and the final materials for the infill between the blades of the synthetic turf's grass.

"My personal goal is to maximize the amount of natural grass play area," Tormey stated. "However, that does not at all affect my support of installing synthetic turf on Hayes Field."

Dr. James Hudson, chair of the board's facilities committee, emphasized that the committee and board are still working to refine details of the plan and that any modifications will be presented and discussed in public forums. "Many of us on the board, and our advisors, have done research to come to a balanced perspective, and I think we have," he said.

Board member Jeffrey Rohr noted that the only way to effectively maintain a grass field is to play on it no more than seven or eight times a year. "Our campus is small," he said, "and we don't have the fields other Westchester schools have. I think synthetic turf is the best alternative, considering the size of our school and the number of kids playing sports."

Board vice president David Brashear expressed appreciation to the community for its input on the Hayes Field reconfiguration project. "We present a well-thought-out and formulated plan," he said. "We put it out there and get a lot of commentary back. We sift through it and make adjustments to our plan and we've done that here. That's typically what we do."

Pictured here: The Bronxville School in late fall. 

Photo by N. Bower