April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 71

uses a basic rule of thumb for managing their fields. A field, he says, can
endure between 650 and 800 hours of
use before showing significant damage. A lighted playing field with synthetic turf, however, can absorb up to
3,000 hours of use on an annual basis.
" It was a no-brainer, " McKnight
says of their decision to convert a portion of their fields to synthetic turf.
El Paso recently passed a $100 million issue to address its quality of life
needs. Parks will receive monies from
the bond funding to undertake several pilot projects.
In San Diego, California, the
parks and recreation department has
reached the halfway point in a longterm investment to convert its most
intensely used sports fields from natural to synthetic turf.
" Our research and experience indicate that, in our climate and economy,
the lifetime financial costs of synthetic turf and natural grass are about the
same, " says Brian Albright, director,
County of San Diego Parks and Recreation. " However, because synthetic turf
allows us so many additional programmable hours, it is actually less costly by
the hour of use. Equally important, synthetic turf allows us to conserve water,
which is extremely important in southern California and consistent with our
environmental stewardship ethic. "
Needham, Massachusetts, faced similar pressure on its playing fields. Unlike
El Paso, which continues to experience
population growth, this 300-year-old
Boston suburb has little land left for new
playing fields.
Patricia Carey serves as director
of Needham's Park and Recreation
Commission, which oversees scheduling and setting of policies for the city's
park and recreation programs. She
says their conversation began in 1999
and 2000 in an effort to deal with the
increasing number of requests to use

their fields. The commission undertook numerous studies and surveys
to gauge community sentiment. One
survey consisted of " philosophical
questions " to reconcile the different
points of view for closing the gap between demand and inventory.
" The philosophical questions were
used in 2002, before any formal discussions about synthetic turf were held, "
Carey says. " Since we didn't have new
fields being added to the inventory, we
wanted the groups to discuss how best
to permit out the fields fairly.

Costs may be offset by
user fees, but, still, the
allocation of playing
time is more important.
Happy campers don't
complain.
-Bill Beckner, NRPA
Manager of Research
" When the groups would approach
me individually, or go to the Park and
Recreation Commission, each with
great reasons why their individual organization should have priority, they
couldn't understand why the commission or staff wouldn't support their reasons and give additional space, " Carey
continues. " Sitting in a room, together,
it was easier for them to understand-
and very difficult for them to suggest
changes to permitting rules. They actually ended up recommending that
the Park and Recreation Commission
charge a field maintenance fee, so the
funds could help increase the maintenance done on fields, beyond what the
town could fund. "
A master plan resulted from the initial survey work, and a private-public

partnership was established to help
raise monies. Residents raised $5.5 million of the total $7 million cost, with
the town covering the balance of $1.5
million. The first fields were converted
to synthetic turf in 2008. So far, all parties appear satisfied with the outcome.
" The groups who use the synthetic
turf fields are pleased with how much
use they are able to get, and how they
can still use them during or after rain,
so they have fewer make-up games to
schedule, " Carey says. " The use of the
synthetic turf fields has taken some
pressure off of the natural turf fields.
The town has also provided additional funding for maintenance of natural
turf fields, so they are safer and have
more strength to handle overuse.
" The high school's primary site
for varsity games, particularly at
night, is Memorial Park, " she continues. " Shortly after re-opening, we
had afternoon practice for freshmen,
JV, and varsity football, along with
the dance team. This was followed by
a 5 p.m. JV boys soccer game, and at
7 p.m. the varsity boys soccer game. "
Carey explains that in the past,
such intensive use in such a short period of time would never have been
possible in order to maintain a safe
field in good-enough condition for
photos and TV coverage. " This past
winter brought a lot of snow to our
area of New England, and many
towns were not able to open fields
until mid-April, " Carey says.
Annual maintenance fees for Needham's three synthetic fields (in two
parks) cost less than $10,000, which
is paid by the town's public works
department and from fees collected
from user groups.
The Woodlands, Texas, a 39-yearold master-planned community 30
miles north of Houston, was created
with parks and nature very much in
mind. With a population of 94,000,

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