FONDA – A committee at Fonda-Fultonville Central School District recommends a safer, cleaner type of athletic field be installed as part of a capital project, official said.
The Board of Education could vote Feb. 22 on whether to use the cryogenic rubber overlay for the new athletic field, which would add about $28,000 to the projected cost of $1.5 million for the construction.
On Tuesday, the Building and Grounds Committee decided to recommend the school board choose the cryogenic overlay for the athletic field.
According to the Field Turf Corporation’s website –www.fieldturf.com/en/ – “Cryogenic rubber is the cleanest, highest grade of rubber granule. Ground-up recycled tires are cryogenically frozen then shattered into small, smooth-edged particles. This smooth shape facilitates a consistent flow of water through the infill without raising and displacing any rubber while allowing rubber and sand to remain in suspension in a layered system – the optimal mix for a safe and consistent playing surface.”
The added cost is worth the enhanced safety and cleanliness the cryogenic beads provide, officials said.
The school board recently charged the Building and Grounds Committee to come up with one or two recommendations on what type of infill to use for the proposed field. A representative from Field Turf spoke to school board last Thursday and noted there were other alternatives to a crumb rubber inlay for the field.
In November 2014, voters in the school district approved the district’s $19.4 million capital project. The project – which will receive 83 percent to 90 percent funding from the state – includes items such as replacing the roof, new emergency lighting, replacing an electrical panel, adding a turf field and upgrading the auditorium.
Bill Black, from Field Turf Corporation, spoke to the board Thursday.
The company has installed a number of well known and local fields, including Patriot Field in Foxboro, Mass., the field at the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University, as well as fields at Amsterdam and Broadalbin-Perth high schools.
Over 60 studies have been done over the past few years which have shown that there is no danger to the health, wellbeing and safety of athletes playing on crumb rubber fields as well as the other alternatives, he said.
He said Amsterdam has had no problems with its field after 12 years of use.
