Written by Carol P. Bartold

Oct. 22, 2014: The Bronxville Board of Education, at its October 16 meeting, adopted a resolution to open the 30-day State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) comment period and declare the board as the lead agency for the proposed turf field replacement project on Hayes Field.

Construction of the $1.9 million Hayes Field project is scheduled to begin in June of 2015 after work on the flood mitigation project at the field and adjacent parking lot has reached substantial completion. Erik Wilson, associate principal at KG&D Architects, district architects, anticipates an August 28 completion of the reconfigured and reconstructed Hayes Field.

The adoption of the resolution for the Hayes Field project follows the Bronxville Board of Trustees' October 14 declaration of its intent to become the lead agency for the $6.8 million flood mitigation project at the field, 75 percent of which will be funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the remaining 25 percent to be funded equally by the village and the school district.

The board plans to open a required 45-day notice of a referendum at the end of its 30-day SEQRA comment period. The referendum will address the district's $850,000 share of the flood mitigation project, as well as its cost of restoring Hayes Field. Still to be determined is whether monies from the construction reserve could be used to fund the field or the project will require a bond.

Board member Dr. James Hudson noted that all permitting for the flood mitigation project must be in place before the district can hold a referendum. With permitting scheduled for completion in December, the district could schedule a referendum for mid- to late January.

Although Hayes Field will be lost to flood mitigation construction in January and some adjacent faculty and staff parking will go offline for approximately six weeks beginning in March, the reconfigured Hayes Field will accommodate boys' and girls' lacrosse, field hockey, and football, as well as provide a turf practice area and a kickball field. The existing elementary school playground will be preserved. An additional 31 parking spaces will be gained at the completion of the project--eight new spaces adjacent to Hayes Field and 23 spaces in a new parking lot planned for Meadow Avenue.

"We thought it was important to restore the fields in a way that addresses some of our most pressing needs for playing spaces for our athletes and children and also the severe restraints we have on parking," Superintendent David Quattrone said. He added that the district has worked very carefully with KG&D Architects to arrive at the best configuration to serve those needs.

KG&D Architects has proposed a plan to replace the grass surface of Hayes Field with turf. Erik Wilson noted that all parties are examining costs and useful life span of turf materials and performing due diligence relating to materials appropriate for the field.

"We are mindful that we're taking a grass field," Wilson noted, "and there is sometimes controversy around a turf field." He acknowledged reports that have recently aired investigating possible links between turf field material and cancer developed by athletes who play on artificial surfaces. "There is no scientific evidence behind that at this point," he said. "However, it raises a concern."

Village residents Gretchen Pingel and Maureen Hackett addressed the board with their concerns about both the Hayes Field and flood mitigation projects.

Pingel urged the board to consider installing sod rather than turf. "If I were a parent of a young child, I would be very concerned realizing that child is going to have gym, recess, after school sports, and probably weekend play entirely on a synthetic field, year in, year out," she said.

Hackett expressed concerns about the removal of several thousand cubic yards of soil and replacing it with artificial turf. She noted that soil holds water for a much longer period of time than turf and reduces flow into storm drains. "The soil promotes life, which is an issue we have to consider," she said. She added that she hopes the parking lot and pathways will be paved with porous surfaces that will decrease the amount of water going directly into storm drains and the water retention system to be installed under Hayes Field.

Design of the flood mitigation project should be finalized by December per Paul Pelusio of J. Robert Folchetti & Associates, civil and environmental consultants to the district and village.

The Bronxville Board of Education will hold its next regular meeting on Thursday, November 20, at 7:30 pm in the school's multipurpose room.

Pictured here: Hayes Field. 

Photo by A. Warner