Should the Barrington Town Council form a committee to explore the idea of building new artificial turf fields at the middle school?

Barrington resident Tom Rimoshytus made that exact request to the council during the public comment portion of its meeting on Monday night, Jan. 7.

Mr. Rimoshytus, a past president of the Barrington Booster Club, said the council should work with local school officials to form a committee to explore the idea. 

He said that installing artificial turf fields at the middle school once the new building is complete would offer a number of benefits to the community.

For starters, the turf fields can accommodate more use and allow town officials to rest natural surface fields, he said. 

Mr. Rimoshytus added that planting natural grass fields at the middle school will mean a longer wait — upwards of two years — before teams can use them. 

Artificial turf fields, said Mr. Rimoshytus, will be ready once they are installed. He added that the turf surfaces only need to be replaced every 10 to 15 years.

During a recent interview, Barrington School Building Committee Co-Chairman Patrick Guida said the installation of a turf field at the new middle school grounds would not be included in the current project for a number of reasons, including the cost.

But on Monday night, Mr. Rimoshytus said the middle school construction project was running ahead of schedule and under budget. He said there was plenty of surplus money that could be used to construct new artificial turf fields.

"I know they're running a surplus," he said, adding "I believe that money can be used for a field."

In the earlier interview, Mr. Guida had said that while the middle school construction project is coming in under budget, some officials still feel it would not be appropriate to use those savings to build a new turf field at the school.  

"It would be inappropriate because it wasn't included in the original plan," he added.

Mr. Guida also said that officials opposed artificial turf fields at the middle school because they felt that the middle school campus might not be the best location for a new turf field. Some people, said Mr. Guida, thought it would be better to construct an artificial turf field at the high school.

Interest in a new artificial turf field surfaced this fall when sports leagues found themselves scrambling for available field space — the middle school fields were eliminated as part of the construction project and other fields were being rested. 

At a meeting with the town manager in the fall, some league officials said they were interested in the construction of an artificial turf field, which could endure heavier foot traffic. 

Sports league leaders later met with school officials and in December attended a Barrington School Building Committee meeting. 

During Monday night's council meeting, Mr. Rimoshytus said exploring artificial turf fields for the middle school is not a school-only project. He said it is a community project, as the fields would also be used for non-school activities.

"It's always been the schools versus the town," he said during Monday's meeting. "Basically, it's town property. The school is the school (department)."

Council members thanked Mr. Rimoshytus for sharing his thoughts during the public comment period.

Meanwhile, Mr. Guida said the idea of building an artificial turf field in town "is not dead" but it will not be part of the current middle school construction project. 

"There could still be a turf field, maybe at the high school and it may be at the middle school, but it will not be part of this (bond)," said Mr. Guida.