May 02. 2016 9:21PM
Medway Selectmen set turf moratorium vote
The date was set at the Board of Selectmen’s Monday meeting after a length conversation about the timing of the petition – just as town officials have started planning the improvement of several parks and recreational areas in town.
Selectmen were seeking the approval of the $450,000 for design and engineering costs at the May 9 Annual Town Meeting, but the board and Town Administrator Michael Boynton discussed – and debated – holding off on the project before the town knows what materials it can use.
Crumb rubber, essentially tiny pieces of ground-up tire that acts as dirt on artificial turf fields and some playgrounds, has not been officially proposed as part of the project, but selectmen on Monday acknowledged that there is a possibility the material could be used on playgrounds once upgraded.
The project, which needs Community Preservation Committee support, seeks to improve areas at Choate Park, Oakland Park, Cassidy Fields and the middle school. Funding would come from Community Preservation Act funds as well as the Open Space Bond Bill via the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Boynton suggested doing just that before the town starts a “design process with someone that might specialize in that type of project.”
Two residents, Liam McDermott and Alan White, both suggested holding off on the project or proposed using a different material until after the moratorium vote, after the results of the federal study involving three government agencies.
Selectman Glenn Trindade said the particular surface discussed would replace wood chips on playgrounds and provide increased accessibility for handicapped people. The material, he said, is encapsulated in another material, thus keeping children safe from crumb rubber.
Trindade, after exchanges between the board and the residents, said the “biggest thing for (him)” is ensuring playgrounds are accessible to handicapped parents.
“Maybe I’m the only one that cares enough about this,” he said.
Selectman Dennis Crowley suggested moving the Annual Town Meeting article asking for the $450,000 design costs to the June 9 warrant to take care of both articles simultaneously.
He said the town could waste funds on an alternative material that’s more costly and more labor-intensive to maintain if the federal study deems crumb rubber safe, and Trindade agreed.
“If they come back and the indications are there’s no problem, we’ve been stuck on this for three years for nothing,” Trindade said.
Zachary Comeau can be reached at 508-634-7556 and zcomeau@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZComeau_MDN.
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