Politics & Government
Football Season Conflicts with Memorial Field Plan
The project to re-sod Memorial Field in Washington Township will not be able to be completed before youth football teams begin practicing on the field.
A plan to re-sod may be delayed because the Washington Township Falcons youth football teams will need the field for practice starting next week.
The council voted 4-1 to appropriate funds for the project during their meeting Monday.
Officials had previously said they wanted to ensure the field was because of netting from old sod which sticks up from its surface.
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"The field is horrendous," Councilman Glenn Beckmeyer said.
Because the work cannot be performed while the field is in use, township officials set a tentative start date of October 29 for the project, which will be after the end of the season if the teams do not make the playoffs.
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The sod, which is higher quality than used previously, is supposed to take only days to settle before it is ready for use.
During their meeting Monday, officials discussed other options for the teams, including putting temporary lights at Sherry Field for practicing and then using the artificial turf field at for games.
"This thing should have been put to bed a long time ago," Councilman Steve Cascio said. "I'm just kind of worried about the kids practicing on that field in the condition its in."
The township's lacrosse program had also considered using the high school's field this past spring, but found that renting the space and operating the lights would have cost more than $20,000 for the season.
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