By HADDONFIELD COMMISSIONER ED BORDEN
Citizens in our country are justly cynical about public officials who try to be squarely on both sides of public issues or who commit to one position and then retreat or temporize when there is controversy.
What they expect of the people they elect is that we will gather information, listen to what our constituents say for a reasonable period and then make a decision. Then they expect us to have the courage to stand by what we believe and not to try to blame someone else for the decisions we make.
To say that the decision to provide partial funding for this project (turf field) was made without careful and thorough consideration by the commissioners and our citizens is simply untrue.
The idea of installing artificial turf at the HMHS stadium field and adjacent Anniversary Field has been a topic of public discussion in town for many years. Some five years ago, a group of citizens approached the commissioners about partial funding for such a project, with the balance to come from increased fees to be paid by participants in youth athletic leagues in town. It is my recollection the commissioners discussed a formal proposal in a public work session to fund up to $500,000 if the committee could fund the balance. The committee was unable to do so, and the project was deferred.
Then in 2009, the Borough Recreation Council, a borough committee whose meetings are fully open to the public, began more intense discussion of the pros, cons and costs of such a project. Eventually, a private group of citizens, some of whom are recreation council members, came together for more serious discussions of how the project could be funded. Through private donations, they paid for engineering studies, title research and cost estimates.
In the months leading up to consideration of the artificial turf funding requests to the board of education and commissioners, Joe DelDuca, chairman of the citizens committee supporting installation of artificial turf on the stadium field at HMHS, met with each of the Commissioners individually. He explained the committee’s proposal, made the engineering studies and cost estimates available to each of us, and responded to any questions we had.
Following those discussions, DelDuca came to a public work session of the commissioners to present the citizens committee’s proposal. Then, he came to a well-advertised and very well-attended regular meeting of the commissioners in the borough hall auditorium. He presented the committee’s requests and findings once again. There was a lengthy period of public comment with over 30 speakers expressing opinions for and against.
At the end of that period, I offered a resolution supporting a borough capital expenditure of $356,000 in 2013 to pay a portion of the cost of the entire project if certain conditions were met. The most significant of those conditions were (a) that the citizens committee raise and contribute $500,000 in private donations (fully half the cost of the entire project) and (b) that families whose kids participate in town leagues not be assessed any fees to pay for the turf project. Each commissioner then had a choice to vote for or against that resolution or to request that it be tabled for further study. There was no motion to table by any commissioner. All three commissioners then voted in favor of the resolution.
Because of the committee’s proposal, we will be able to install a much needed public improvement at half the cost to the Haddonfield taxpayer that it would otherwise be. And every field in town will be improved since other fields will have more time to “rest.” I believe our decision was the right one and am not reluctant to say so.
