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Questions on turf linger prior to meeting

By Hannah LaClaire - Staff Writer | Mar 15, 2018

HOLLIS – If everything goes according to plan at tonight’s annual district meeting, students at Hollis Brookline High School will have a new, synthetic turf to play on.

The field is the first of two bonded warrant articles to be discussed at the SAU 41 COOP meeting, and would cost the district $1.6 million to install. The second warrant article is for a STEM and robotics lab for $1.9 million.

However, while the superintendent and board called the field “desperately needed,” some residents are less than thrilled about the project.

“I don’t think a lot of people know what we’re getting into,” said CJ Husk, a Hollis resident. An artificial turf, in a town surrounded by so much agriculture, seems “very uncharacteristic,” he said.

Husk, who is on the Hollis Agricultural Commission and the Beaver Brook Board of Trustees, is concerned about the cost of replacing the field in a few years, the potential toxicological effects on the students and the environment from the chemicals in the synthetic turf, and also the land; the area abuts Beaver Brook and could potentially drain into a wetland where an endangered species of salamander has been found.

Superintendent Andrew Corey said the field will, admittedly, be costly to replace. The estimated life of synthetic turf is anywhere from 10 to 25 years. The replacement, Corey said will be between $4.50 and $6 per square foot of the 80,000-square-foot field.

The district has athletic and maintenance trusts that the school can explore when that time comes, he said.

The public concern over the toxicological effects of the turf are valid: Crumb rubber, the most popular form of turf fill made from ground up used car tires, can contain chemicals such as acetone, arsenic, lead and dozens of others.

There is currently a bill going before the New Hampshire State House, HB 1561, to prohibit the use of synthetic turf material, citing the exposure to chemicals and increased risks to various cancers.

However, Corey said, they are not committed to using crumb rubber fill, and will investigate the artificial turf alternatives, which include those made from coconut fibers, rice husks, cork, sand or virgin crumb rubber.

That will be more of a construction consideration, he said, not a design consideration, which is the current stage.

Corey said they are committed to researching the issue fully before selecting a material.

As for Beaver Brook, he said that the association is aware of the project. If they go with the organic artificial turf, there will be no animals at risks from any runoff or drainage, and they do not have any plans as of yet to irrigate the field anyway.

Even with the potential of runoff an threaten the marbled salamander population in the area, Brendan Clifford, a wildlife biologist for New Hampshire Fish and Game, said that would only come before their department once the district entered the permitting phase. That could not happen unless the warrant articles passed.

Husk also expressed concern over the space – whether they would have to clear so many trees in the area that it would cross over onto the Beaver Brook property, then causing an issue of heat, as the turf can get very hot, or if they would clear less space, resulting in pine needles and pitch that needed to be cleared off the field often.

Corey said that if they were to walk into the proposed field location, people would see that it is largely open land with a few small trees and a lot of brush. They would not have to cut into Beaver Brook property or have pine needles.

According to the proposed bill, organic materials can help reduce turf heat by up to 30 degrees.

With the minimal upkeep costs and the longevity of the field, the artificial turf remains, overall, a cheaper option than a natural field, Corey said in a previous public forum.

Residents will vote on this issue and the other warrant articles tonight at Hollis Brookline High School. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Hannah LaClaire can be reached at 594-1243 or hlaclaire@nashau

telegraph.com.

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