Seymour High School has scored a nearly $2 million grant, courtesy of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, for installation of an (AstroTurf ® GameDay Grass™ 3DH 52) artificial turf field and new handicapped-accessible bleachers.
The state Board Commission approved the funds earlier this year, which state Rep. Theresa Conroy, D-Seymour, was instrumental in securing.
The Board of Selectmen Tuesday approved some necessary paperwork from DEEP and formed a committee to oversee the project, which was required in order for Seymour to access the money.
First Selectman Kurt Miller was thrilled to receive the grant, which not only will enable the installation of the (AstroTurf ®) artificial turf and new bleachers that are Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, but that also allow for a new press box.
“This is certainly a good thing for the town of Seymour,” Miller said.
The town was cited several years back because the bleachers where not handicapped-accessible.
“Making sure our bleachers are ADA compliant is very important,” Conroy said. “We want to make sure all fans can come out and cheer for the Wildcats.”
Selectman appointed Conroy, along with residents Ed Strumello, Jay Hatfield, Paul Sponheimer, Bill Paecht, Jack Liedke, Tim Sadick and Sean Walsh, to serve on the new committee to oversee the project.
“It’s great that the town received the grant,” Conroy said. “The football program needed to make several improvements to comply with ADA requirements. This grant will help address the bleacher seating and press box to make them accessible and useable for persons with disabilities. The turf field has been a request for several years. With the state grant money, the town has no cost associated with completing these two infrastructure improvements. As for the recent report about turf being harmful, there has been no research linking cancer and artificial turf.”
Sponheimer, who served as the high school’s head football coach for nearly 30 years before retiring, was thrilled about the improvements coming to the field he called home for decades.
“I think this is long overdue, and it will be an asset to the town of Seymour,” Sponheimer said about the new turf. “There is no maintenance, the field doesn’t have to be marked or watered and it can be used 24/7. And there’s never a need for anything to be cancelled because of rain or bad weather.”
Sponheimer said “87 percent” of the country uses artificial turf fields, and he’s happy to see Seymour will get an opportunity to experience it firsthand.
Residents in 2007 sacked a play to use $825,000 from the town’s surplus to purchase an artificial turf field at SHS. The town applied twice, but was denied, for $500,000 in state grant money to buy fake turf.
The town’s Parks Commission in 2007 spent 18 months researching to pros and cons of fake turf, and found that it comes with many benefits. In addition to having drainage properties, which would allow for year-round play, officials said fake grass can outlast regular grass with minimal maintenance, and would enable the field to be used more than three times its current usage. Even following a heavy rainstorm, the surface is ready for immediate use afterward, unlike traditional grass fields that can turn into mud bowls.
A fact sheet released in 2007 by the state Department of Public Health said health risks are unlikely, and most of the chemicals emitted from the rubber granules used in the fake fields “are quite common in urban and suburban air” that people breath every day.
Other high schools around the state, including Shelton, Hamden, Milford, West Haven, Branford and Bridgeport, have artificial fields.
The Synthetic Turf Council website lists elimination of potentially harmful pesticides and fertilizers, significant reduction of emissions from gas-powered maintenance equipment and billions of gallons of water saved annually.
Article by Jean Falbo-Sosnovich, Courtesy of the New Haven Register