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Council to fund $7.8 Million in No-Bid Artificial Turf Projects

Below is the Montgomery County Council's Press Release from Monday, September 26, 2011.  Note that even the Council's Press Office thought the Artificial Turf meeting was going to televised! 
But as we know now, Council Vice President Roger Berliner pulled the plug on televising the meeting. (Phone lines to listen in were also jammed.)

The preview of the meeting shows that the Council would not be discussing cost issues, but announces that 7 more artificial turf fields are coming to MCPS and M-NCPPC. That's an expenditure of over $7.8 million on a procurement that has never been put out for competitive bids - no bids on the artificial turf and no bids for the associated site work. 

Remember that when MCPS buys artificial turf they take out a lease. Add on the interest and fees associated with a lease transaction for the MCPS purchases. 

Council News - Press Releases & Statements

Montgomery Council Committees to Address Artificial Turf for School Fields, Recycling. Also for Monday, Sept. 26: Wheaton Sector Plan, Briefing on Property Assessments, Montgomery College Recruitment

Release ID: 11-191
Release Date: 9/26/2011
Contact: Neil Greenberger 240-777-7939 or Delphine Harriston240-777-7931
From: Council Office

ROCKVILLE, Md., September 26, 2011—...The Montgomery County Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment (T and E) Committee and its Education Committee will meet jointly at 2 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 26, for a worksession to discuss a report from the County’s Artificial Turf Working Group. The group has been looking at the pros and cons of installing artificial turf fields to replace grass fields at County’s high schools and at County parks. The T and E Committee, which is chaired by Council Vice President Roger Berliner and includes Councilmembers Nancy Floreen and Hans Riemer, and the Education Committee, which is chaired by Council President Valerie Ervin and includes Councilmembers Phil Andrews and Craig Rice, will meet in the Third Floor Council Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The meeting will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon) and also will be available via streaming through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov. The working group studying artificial turf fields has issued a report called, “A Review of Benefits and Issues Associated with Natural Grass and Artificial Turf Rectangular Stadium Fields.” The Council has been discussing issues around installation of artificial turf fields for several years for high school stadium fields and for park fields. Advocates have pointed to the increased availability that the fields provide and more consistent playing conditions. Some opponents have raised concerns about the health and environmental impacts in comparison to natural grass. There are currently seven artificial turn playing fields in the County, including those at Blair, Richard Montgomery and Walter Johnson high schools. Seven additional fields are planned over the next six years....

Reminder: New Sod Needs to be Watered!

It promises to be a scorcher this week! I hope one of our readers will get a temperature reading on the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field. (And I really hope that no kids will be playing on the artificial field in the 100 degree heat!)

Never fear: Richard Montgomery High School also has a grass "practice field." Up until this summer, it was basically a sand pit. But at some point recently, new sod was laid on part of the field, and it appears that part of the field was seeded as well. (You can see the delineation in the photos).

Nevertheless, some of the new sod is starting to wither and die. Hoses were on the field yesterday morning at 8:30. Let's hope someone watered earlier in the morning, and takes action to ensure that the new sod survives, and the seeded part sprouts.

$3,500 for a student parking space

As Walter Johnson High School prepares to rip up their brand new grass football field and replace it with an artificial turf field, other county high schools may look for ways to improve their football fields.

Here is one suggestion; in 2006, the Potomac Almanac reported on how Churchill High School in Potomac raises funds to maintain their football field.

Just like last year, the auction item that garnered the most buzz was a guaranteed parking space in Churchill’s student lot. “This is priceless,” emcee Topper Shutt said as the bidding began, and he wasn’t too far off the mark. After bidding ended for one space, Churchill Principal Joan Benz announced that three more were available — the four spaces ultimately sold for $3,500 apiece.

LaFleur said it’s a good return for the school for investing a small percentage of student parking spaces. “That pays for a lot of field maintenance,” he said.

Question: is it legal for a principal to auction off county or state property?

WJ High to get TWO football fields!

Good news Montgomery County! No budget crisis here! We have enough money to install two football fields at one high school in the same fiscal year!

Did you happen to catch the WJLA Channel 7 news report by Greta Kreuz on the new artificial turf field for the newly modernized Walter Johnson High School? Did you happen to notice that Greta was standing in front of a brand new GRASS football field at Walter Johnson High School (WJHS) in her report?

What? WJHS just got a new grass football field and the County Council just funded a new ARTIFICIAL turf football field for WJHS too?

You bet! Montgomery County is flush with funding for football fields!

In order to be ready for the August 2009 football season the newly modernized Walter Johnson High School is getting a NEW GRASS field installed right now!

And then, as soon as football season is over, the BRAND NEW $432,500* GRASS field will be RIPPED UP and replaced with a $1,200,000 artificial turf field.

That's right, the cost of a brand new sod field PLUS the cost of installing a brand new artificial turf field, and both projects in the same fiscal year! The Walter Johnson High School football field will have cost $1,632,500 in one year! And don't forget to add in the one year cost to water the grass field - $6,000!

*Source of cost data: February 15, 2008 County Council Education Committee packet, page 12 of PDF or page circle 9.

Breaking: Council Committee Delays Vote on Artifical Turf

Today, the Montgomery County Council's Education Committee was slated to approve a contribution from an outside source toward the purchase of artificial turf for the Walter Johnson High School football field. However, Councilmembers Valerie Ervin, Michael Knapp, and Phil Andrews have delayed their vote on this funding. The delay is to allow Montgomery County Public Schools(MCPS) to respond to information received by Councilmembers with regard to health and safety issues surrounding artificial turf, and concerns from Maryland Turfgrass farmers that natural grass fields are not being considered.

At today's hearing, it was learned that MCPS does not clean or sanitize artificial turf fields on a regular basis. According to MCPS consultant Joe Lavorgna "no cleaning is required". Mr. Lavorgna also stated, without citing any authority, that the "fibers" in the artificial turf to be used in MCPS are lead-free. The issue with lead in artificial turf fields, however, does not just relate to the "fibers" but also to the use of crumb rubber - ground up tires in the base of the fields.

On Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 1:30 P.M. the County Council will hold a public hearing on this matter. It is expected that comment will be heard from the Safe Healthy Playing Fields Coalition and from Maryland Turfgrass Association farmers.

Click here for Maryland Turfgrass Association testimony to MCPS Board of Education on May 26, 2009.

Click here for WTOP Kate Ryan's report on this decision.

Click here for all of the Parents' Coalition blog posts on Artificial Turf.

Grass Growers' Plea for Turf Transparency!

...I am here tonight to ask you to reconsider your actions to convert all Montgomery County high schools into artificial turf fields. I will concede that many of the fields are in poor shape.

There are a lot of factors that this can be attributed to, one of which is poor design. It was poor design to hold down cost... You are comparing the lowest end grass fields to the highest end fields in the country when you go to the artificial turf fields. I would like to ask you to study the possibility of a sand based field with drainage, as a comparison to the artificial turf fields that you are putting in...You will find it is still cheaper than the artificial fields that you are putting in...

I am also concerned about the process here. I have not seen any open bids for these fields that you are putting in. I would like to see an open playing field for that.

Excerpts of testimony of Doug Lechlider, President Maryland Turfgrass Association to Montgomery County Board of Education on May 26, 2009. You can view the complete statement of Mr. Lechlider in the video below.