With the amount of homeowners appealing their tax assessments, how will this town pay for anything including municipal services which may very well be reduced due to a large reduction in tax money collected. I hope someone wakes up & looks at tax revenue's vs. spending because a rude awakening is coming soon!

As I understand it, the turf was close to $3 million at previous accounts and would need to be replaced in 15 years. That's $200,000 a year.

The sod was $140,000, not counting improvements and would last -- let's be conservative -- 5 years. That's only $30,000 per year

$200,000 per year for turf, $30,000 per year for sod. It's simple math. How is that saving us money in the long run....it's commmitment to an annual and unnecessary debt load.

What are Cascio and Beckmeyer thinking?

And this nonsense about some of the players having allergies, as if the only place they have exposure to grass is playing sports. Are we talking about a bunch of "dainties" that they can't be exposed to grass while playing rough and tumble sports, so we have to spend $200,000 per year for artificial turf?

It's a bunch of nonsense. How many families are struggling for survival, to put children through college, food on the table, pay sky-rocketing utility bills and we have two "out of touch" councilmen who want such an extravagance and unnecessary luxury.

Part of the beauty of sports is getting out in the open air, close to nature and the elements.

Come on!!!!

Not really...they'll just do another revaluation.

Bravo....the town is thinking correctly for a bit.....unlike River Vale where they disgustingly spent 1.5 MIL on turf...has anyone driven on River Vale road by the country club? Its like New York City streets....glad the little kiddies can play recreational sports allergy-free on their well-lit million-dollar turf while the roads are a disgrace...

Nice work TWP!

dmf. You just don't get it and you never will. Fact-the turf project is 1.8 million rounding off to 2 million with the bond costs. not 3 million. Fact -at that cost over 15 years the cost is 127000.00 a year. fact -the sod replaced now 5 times in 10 years costs 133000.00 per year to supply and maintain and it gives limited use. Fact- the sod will last no more than two years as proven by trial and error already. you'll see. Fact- in the last 10 years the council has spent more than 1.2 million for grass with upkeep and have nothing. At least in 15 years the field would have a complete drainage system and lights worth well over a million dollars with field turf. Fact- 133000.00 for grass per year/ 127000.00 for turf per year and after 15 years having a assessed value of over a million dollars compared to having nothing . Get educated and open your eyes.

whether the cost to apply turf will cost X, or the cost to sod every several years will cost Y, Whether the difference between X-Y=Z, whether E=MC(2), none of it is meaningful. What is meaningful is that ANY additional burden put on the taxpayers is for paving streets, fixing sewers that are collapsing, repairing the sidewalks along the public areas, IE: behind the library, along memorial field, along Washington school, the list can go on and on. Cleaning the visible, public areas that attract new residents versus discouraging them to live in the Township

every-one is missing the BIG picture. For the first time under the present mayor and counsel THEY made a decision!!!!!! Did anyone see that one coming? REMARKABLE

You know the WT sports heads wont give up until their little ESPN-ers get their tax funded turf....but hey, for 3 million, they wont sneeze from the grass allergies! (we loved THAT one!)
Bravo to the council for now!

Our wonderful town seems to be in gridlock in part because of our particular form of government. Responsible government and responsible spending in this economy means prioritizing essential services and infrastructure. The debate over Memorial Field the past few months has quite frankly been embarassing on the one hand, but illuminating on the other. Taken into consideration with all the other disagreements between the mayor and council (Memorial Field is but one example), I believe it's become clear that concerned voters consider making some changes in the voting booth in upcoming elections. Although I hope our governing body remains Republican, I believe there are some legitimate questions that can be asked about the competence to govern and common sense of the mayor and every member of the council, given their behavior over the past couple of years. One only has to attend a mayor and council meeting and see for themselves. There is obvious hostility between the mayor and council and alternating instances of common sense and outright nonsense expressed by the mayor and some council members. Of course, changes require responsible fiscal conservatives throwing their hats into the ring. I would prefer a continued republican majority, but this present mayor and council may be putting that in jeopardy. There are more important financial and quality of life issues facing the Township of Washington (our schools, maintaining a safe community, etc) than Memorial Field.

dmf : fact - is 2 million not 3 million. fact - has nothing to do with college sports, its about an overused facility with lights that gets run into the ground again determined already by trial and error and fact - the tax Burdan would be 2 cents per 190,000 dollars acessed. thats about 6 cents a year. Move to another town. Even dmf could eat one less donut on one of your breaks.

Hey oldfart you should not be upset at residents who don't want to spend 2 million 3 million in a bad economy you should be pissed off at the mayor and council who continue to drop the ball on the memorial field issue . This has been an issue for over 15 yrs and they still haven't fixed the problem , just saying