Friday, September 21, 2012
Scheduling conflicts made it impossible for Washington Township's youth football teams to use the high school's turf field for their home games.
Washington Township's youth football teams will not be playing their home games on the high school's turf field as previously considered, according to Coach Scott Spezial. Parents have expressed concern about Memorial Field, which has had problems with plastic netting from old sod sticking above its surface. Township officials voted to re-sod the field, but the project was not started before the Falcons football teams began using the field for practice. The project is expected to be done in early November, after the season is finished. Because of the safety concerns, township Mayor Janet Sobkowicz said the teams would be able to use the high school's field for games and Memorial Field for practice. Spezial told Patch that the teams will …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Washington Township Council voted against the mayor's plan to use a playground grant for the project to re-sod Memorial Field.
The Washington Township Council unanimously rejected a plan from Mayor Janet Sobkowicz Monday that would have transferred a Bergen County Open Space grant to the project to re-sod Memorial Field. The council previously approved a plan to bond for $152,000 of the $160,000 to re-sod the field, but Sobkowicz said she wanted to use the $25,000 matching grant — awarded by the county last year to pay for a playground — and other money in the budget to lower the amount of the bond, which will take 15 years to pay off. "It probably won't last that long," Sobkowicz said about the sod. Councilmen said they preferred to use the grant for its original purpose and to bond for the sod as they had previously voted. "We should stay with its intended …
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Washington Township youth football teams will play their home games at Westwood High School's turf field instead of Memorial Field.
Washington Township football teams will be able to use the artificial turf field at Westwood Jr./Sr. High School for their four home games this season, according to Mayor Janet Sobkowicz. Officials had been planning to re-sod Memorial Field, where the teams normally play, but football practice began August 1 before the work could be done. The field has had several maintenance issues, the most notable being netting from old sod which sticks above the surface. Falcons Football Coach Scott Spezial told Patch he had notified the Northern Bergen Junior Football League about the field's problems, citing safety and legal concerns. "When a child or adult gets hurt on that field because of its condition, there is now a huge liability on our town …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
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 Memorial Field 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 repaired before the start of the season because of netting from old sod which sticks up from its surface. "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. The sod, which is higher quality than used …
Monday, July 23, 2012
The Washington Township Council is scheduled to vote on an ordinance to re-sod Memorial Field during their meeting Monday.
The ordinance appropriating $160,000 to re-sod Memorial Field is up for vote at the Washington Township Council's meeting Monday. The plan involves removing old sod, installing new, higher-grade sod and repairing some drainage at the bottom of the hill between the field and Washington School. $152,000 of the money for the project would come from bonds. At the previous council meeting, Mayor Janet Sobkowicz said she believes she can lower the $152,000 in bonds to $55,000 by finding more money in the budget, using a grant and removing the drainage work from the project. Sobkowicz said she would have more concrete numbers by Monday's meeting. Residents and officials have debated the best solution for the field's problems for months since …
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Washington Township Mayor Janet Sobkowicz said she hopes to find money in the budget for the re-sodding plan so a $152,000 bond is not needed to pay for the project.
A bond may not be needed to pay for the majority of a project to re-sod Memorial Field, according to Washington Township Mayor Janet Sobkowicz. The plan involves removing old sod and soil, repairing a drainage system at the site and installing the new sod. The council introduced an ordinance appropriating $160,000 for the project during their meeting this week. The ordinance allows for $152,000 of the cost to come from bonds. Sobkowicz said she believes they can cut the bond down to $55,000 by using a $25,000 matching grant for the field, finding some other money in the budget and eliminating the proposed drainage work from the hill between the field and Washington School. "It doesn't really affect the field," Sobkowicz said about the …
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
The Washington Township Council voted 4-1 Monday to re-sod the field. Councilmen said they intend to pursue artificial turf for the future.
Months of debate came to an end Monday when the Washington Township Council voted 4-1 in favor of creating an ordinance to allow for the re-sodding of Memorial Field. Some residents have been attending council meetings to request artificial turf for the field, which has had problems with drainage, goose feces and netting from old sod sticking through its surface. Monday's proposal called for a total of $160,000 to cover the costs of removing old sod and soil, repairing a drainage system at the site and installing the new sod. Township engineer Paul Azzolina previously said the sod would be ready "almost immediately" after it is installed. Council President Richard Hrbek said it was important to improve the fields for the immediate future…
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Members of the Washington Township Council voted on both sod and artificial turf at their meeting Monday, but neither motion passed.
A solution for the problems at Memorial Field has not yet been picked, despite votes for re-sodding or installing artificial turf during the Washington Township Council's meeting Monday night. Residents have been complaining about the condition of the field, which has netting sticking through its surface from the last time it was sodded. Re-sodding the field would, along with other necessary work, cost about $150,000 and last between four and six years before needing to be replaced, according to township engineer Paul Azzolina. It would likely be cheaper to replace in the future once the netting had been removed. Switching to artificial turf is estimated to cost $3.2 million, and members of the township recreation board said it would not …
Friday, June 8, 2012
The second attempt to find contractors to re-sod Memorial Field drew $111,000 as the lowest offer.
Washington Township received four bids in response to a call for contractors to re-sod Memorial Field, according to Mayor Janet Sobkowicz. The bids ranged between $111,000 and $176,000 for the project, compared to $40,000 set aside for the project in this year's budget. Sobkowicz said the bids ran higher than the last time the field was sodded because the winning contractor would have to remove the old sod and install the new sod, which would be thicker and of higher quality than the type used before. Residents have been complaining about the condition of the field, which has netting sticking through its surface from the last time it was sodded. Members of the township's recreation board have asked the council to install artificial turf at…
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Members of the Washington Township Council said they would vote on a plan for artificial turf if they do not receive any bids to re-sod the field.
A decision on the future of Memorial Field could come at the next meeting of the Washington Township Council. Members of the council said at their meeting Monday that they would vote on a proposal to replace Memorial Field with artificial turf if no bids come in to re-sod the field by the June 6 deadline. A previous call for bids yielded no results. Council Vice President Joseph D'Urso said he did not expect to get any this time. "I don't believe patching it is going to cover it," D'Urso said. Currently, netting from old sod sticks up through the surface of Memorial Field. Residents have also complained about excessive amounts of goose feces and problems with drainage at the site. Recreation Board member Scott Spezial said artificial turf …
oldmanwtp
8:04 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
jeff : You obviously don't get it. Spez doesn,t make the decision to play there. And it is unsafe. Memorial field is where the football program is told to play by the town, that being the mayor and council. Playing at the high school for four home games does nothing for safety when the football program is forced to play on Memorial every night including B and C games during the week. As far as … more ›