Turf in Kinnelon

I am on the Kinnelon Town Council. Last night we had our regularly scheduled public meeting. I had seen several e-mails go out in town encouraging lax and soccer parents to attend the meeting to push the Council for a decision on the turf field. I think that was a great idea. This is how democracy works.

While the turn out wasn’t what I had expected, what they lacked in numbers was made up for by the speakers. Five parents spoke. They pushed the council for an answer. However, the mayor pointed out that a straw vote at this point might not be in the town's best interests, saying the Board of Ed has a say in this process too.  Councilwoman Carol Sventy is the head of the coordinating committee, which is charged with meeting with the Board of Ed to move the turf decision forward.  

I have done some of my own research too. I know there is a concern that turf causes more injuries than grass. Here are two articles I found.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sportsdoc/Grass-vs-Turf-does-it-affect-injury-rate.html
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/821983
Both articles indicate that, for the most part, turf causes no more injures than grass. And I am not cherry-picking these articles. I recommend that you do your own research. Overall it appears turf is just as safe , if not more so, than grass.  

At the meeting last night, Councilman Moleta raised a fair point, with which I agree to an extent. He said he doesn’t like the idea of spending money on a field that the town in general won’t be able to use. I agree. 

I also agreed with both the mayor and Councilwoman Carol Sventy on their point last night that we can’t guarantee a field until we know how much it is going to cost. We may have money in a fund, but if the field is going to cost more than is in the fund, then we probably can’t do it.

So, I applaud the collective determination of the sports parents on this issue. Again, that is what democracy is all about. A turf field may not be the answer to all of our field problems, but at this point I think it appears to be a viable alternative. It is up to the residents of Kinnelon to tell town officials what they want.

Thanks, Cliff Giantonio