Food For Thought For The Planning Board UPDATED

In preparation for tonight's Planning Board meeting, a concerned resident found a previous discussion on artificial turf in the August 27, 2013 meeting minutes. 

Mr. Pittman asked about the artificial turf that is recommended form Wildcat and Middle fields.
Mr. McGill said he believes the majority of the commission supports an artificial surface. They looked at the pros and cons of artificial and natural surfaces, received advice from the sports advisory board and conducted several meetings hearing arguments both for and against turf, of turf on one field either Wildcat or Middle field.
Mr. Pittman is concerned about the expense and if the use of the fields warrants it. He said he goes by those fields and many times they are not in use.
Mr. McGill said the users of those fields have indicated that fields are often not in unusable condition. Every year it is a challenge for the recreation department to provide adequate field space for all of the different sports. Some sports organizations have had to lease fields in other communities because there were no fields available in Mt. Lebanon. Adding lighting to these fields could extend time frame that they would be in use.
Mr. Pittman said artificial turf does not alleviate the need for field space, it only protects the field after a weather event. He is concerned about the athletes’ safety with artificial surfaces.
Mr. Sabeh said the newer surfaces are designed to be safer than grass and absorb more impact, thereby protecting the athlete better.

With all due respect, Mr. Sabeh, you are misinformed. I have been posting links to documentation that says otherwise on Lebo Citizens. Here are some new ones which were sent to me.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Artificial Turf 

Are artificial turf fields carcinogenic?

Mr. Sabeh, in case you were wondering about lawsuits, grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable. This extensive list will keep you busy for some time.

http://www.synturf.org/lawsuits.html 


State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General 

I understand that you base your decisions on the 2013 Comprehensive Plan. (Please allow extra time for link to open. It is a large document.)

Action 8: Promote public/private partnerships related to recreation planning and improvements to maximize recreation opportunities in a cost effective manner.

Mr. Sabeh, check out how a school district was stuck replacing six year old artificial turf after it failed prematurely. Beaverton School District to spend up to $850,000 to replace failing artificial turf fields 

Although the district signed a limited warranty with the installer, faulty record-keeping on the district's part complicated negotiations for a new field.

You may have heard of a similar incident occurring here in Mt. Lebanon, Mr. Sabeh. Talk with Mr. Feller about poor record keeping and warranties connected with the Public Safety Building.

Please think long and hard before you rubber stamp this project, Mr. Sabeh. Turfing fields is a life long commitment. Once the artificial turf is installed, there is no turning back without extensive soil remediation which takes years to recover. This turf will be replaced every eight years, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Think about the lawsuits. Consider the safety of our children. Please.

Update April 22, 2014 10:13 AM I sent an email this morning to Keith McGill, asking to forward a link to this post to the Planning Board. Here is his response.

Good morning Elaine,

The agenda item on tonight's Planning Board meeting for the Wildcat/Middle Field project is an update for the Planning Board on the status of a project that is identified in the Comprehensive Plan.

The Board will not be taking an action or making a recommendation on this project as no action is required. The project is an improvement of an existing facility. As you are aware the Commission voted in favor of a motion to assign funds for this project in November of 2013 with a requirement that non-municipal funds be in place to allow the project to move forward.

The Planning Board takes Citizens comments at the end of the meeting for any non-action items.

As always, thank you for your interest in the community and I will look forward to seeing you at tonight's meeting.

Respectfully,

Keith