Just four days after the Haddonfield Board of Education passed a resolution pledging more than $150,000 for the construction of a turf field, the borough commissioners unofficially agreed to allocate more than $350,000 to turf the borough-owned Anniversary Field, which sits next to the high school football field.
Based on the specifications, the high school field would cost $654,180 to turf and the Anniversary Field would cost $355,121.
Both of the agreements depend on the Haddonfield Turf Committee raising at least $500,000 in private donations for the project. Chairman of the committee Joe Del Duca said if the minimum amount cannot be raised, neither the borough nor the BOE would be responsible for their allocations.
The commissioners listened to Del Duca’s presentation at a workshop meeting early last week, with Mayor Tish Colombi and Commissioner Ed Borden throwing their support behind the project.
Commissioner Jeff Kasko said he is tentatively supporting the project, but was not comfortable allocating so much money without ample time for public comment and that nobody has identified where the money is coming from, whether it be from the capital budget, open space, or any other borough source.
He did thank Del Duca and the turf committee for its hard work and their dedication to raising at least $500,000 for the project.
“With respect to the turf practice field, which is located on borough property, I have some reservations and want to have a discussion with all the stakeholders, including the taxpayers of Haddonfield,” Kasko said. “The proposal is to have the borough taxpayers fund 100 percent of this field, at an initial cost of just over $350,000, without any concrete plan for where these funds will come from, how we will fund ongoing maintenance and cleaning expenses, and how we will pay to replace it in eight to 10 years. Obviously, these matters have to be addressed, with plenty of public input, before we make a decision. I’m hopeful we’ll have that full public discussion and find a solution that’s going to work for the athletes, parents, and taxpayers of Haddonfield.
Also, he said private donations would cover 80 percent of the board of education’s cost to turf the high school field, while the borough would be responsible for 100 percent of the cost to turf Anniversary Field.
Colombi said it’s no secret she’s an advocate of turf fields.
“Our high school football field is a disgrace. The biggest expense for sports throughout the town, whether it be high school or town sport leagues, is the ability to keep our fields maintained. It drains everyone’s budget,” Colombi said. “If we can just move some of the sports on to the turf field, cut the maintenance and our fields have a chance to rest a season, that would be helpful. They never recover from one year to the other.”
No official vote was taken at the meeting.
Borden said a resolution would most likely appear on the Tuesday, May 22 meeting agenda for the commissioners to discuss. The resolution would call for the commissioners to support the two turf fields and to allocate the funding for Anniversary Field if several requirements are met.
If the committee raises the $500,000, Borden said, the school board would have to agree to let town sports groups use the fields in addition to the high school teams.
Currently, the turf committee already has approximately $250,000 raised and three fundraising activities are planned for the future.
The Haddonfield Educational Trust has chosen the turf committee as the benefactor for funds raised at its June 11 golf and barbeque event. The committee will also begin a capital fundraising campaign and will host a formal event at Tavistock Country Club on Nov. 17.
Please visit www.Haddonfieldsun.com for a full recap of the May 22 meeting.
