Parks & Rec scores $3.6 million for four new playing fields
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Town Meeting voters in nearly unanimous agreement adopted Article 27 and gave the Parks and Recreation Department $3.6 million toward four new playing fields Monday night.

The four fields - two natural and two artificial - are planned for 18 acres of Land Bank land at 81 Milestone Road.

"We would like consideration for passing of this article for the youth in the community," said Steve Theroux, the article's sponsor. "We have two good ones out at the Delta Fields, but truth be told the fields out at Delta are in tough shape. Due to the amount of use, we cannot prevent them from falling into an emergency state of disrepair."

Coaches, parents and members of the Parks and Recreation Commission told Town Meeting voters that the town's existing playing fields are overtaxed; that groups are regularly turned away because of the lack of space on the fields. Their pleas rang louder than the Finance Committee's negative recommendation.

"What's the hurry?" said Finance Committee Vice Chairman Bruce Miller in defense of the recommendation. "There's been a remarkable lack of cooperation between the groups trying to move ahead with this project. We all think it's a great idea, we all think we need them, [but] it's a question of whether we rush into it or get it in the next few years."

Because new natural fields require about two years to be graded, planted and grown into playable condition, according to Parks and Recreation property manager Charles Bartlett, the sooner the work can begin, the better for all the island's athletes. Many voters with children in one sports program or another could not see a better way to spend the town's money.

"We have spent a lot of money, more than they're asking for these fields, to purchase open space," said Linda Williams. "It's about time we took some of that money and put it toward new fields. We need to start doing something for the people here and not just open space."

Only a handful of voters besides the Finance Committee questioned the logic of Article 27. Sustainable Nantucket Executive Director Michelle Whelan voiced her concerns about the potential hazards of artificial turf made from ground up tires and containing volatile organic compounds including arsenic, acetone, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, vanadium, lead and zinc that could leach into the island's nearby water supply and release toxic gases on hot sunny days. Theroux corrected his original motion to include the appointment of a committee to study and review the design and make-up of artificial fields before building them.

The four fields - two natural and two artificial - are planned for 18 acres of Land Bank land at 81 Milestone Road. Debbie Culbertson suggested other island locations.

"This is a development, this is going to be a large parcel that is basically going to be stripped," said Culbertson. "I think it's needed for the kids, but I think we should take the time and look a little bit more around the island and find a better spot."

Voters must approve the spending of the $3.6 million through a Proposition 2 override at a special election in June. The Parks and Recreation Department hopes to start on the project this fall. If the artificial turf fields committee is formed quickly enough and it chooses an artificial surface that islanders can live with, Bartlett said that those fields could be ready for play by next spring.

With the adoption of Article 26, Parks and Recreation also got $500,000 more toward the project from the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) in addition to the $400,000 it received from CPC at Town Meeting in 2007. Parks and Rec is also eligible for a $500,000 grant from the state's Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs through its Urban Self-Help Program.

In the shadow of Article 27's success, three key zoning articles also passed muster before Moderator Sarah Alger ended night one's proceedings at 11 p.m. With the adoption of Article 35, voters changed 11 lots on the northwest side of Somerset Road from RC-2 to R-10. Voters also converted 12 lots along the corner of Surfside Road and Vesper Lane from R-10 to Commercial-Neighborhood, and four lots between Prospect Street and Vesper Lane from R-1 to Commercial-Neighborhood through Article 40. And voters adopted Article 30 that changed land near the

airport from LUG-3 to Commercial Industrial. I