Full House Debates Fields of Dreams Plan

A capacity crowd of parents and youth sports devotees came to Parsippany's meeting Thursday evening for a long night of testimony for and against the proposed Fields of Dreams project. The plan would  between the schools and municipal government.

One of the plan's most enthusiastic boosters is Mayor James Barberio, who made a rare public visit to the Board of Education building to present an overview of the controversial plan.

Barberio said the Fields of Dreams idea has been percolating for at least the last year. Over the past months, a committee including the mayor, the township attorney and youth sports leaders convened to find a way to overhaul the aging Board of Education-owned fields at and  high school.

Under the proposal, which the mayor said came from Michael Pietrowicz, a leader of Little Vikings Football, a new artificial turf field would be installed at each of the high schools, along with modernized lighting and new track ovals. This would be accomplished, the mayor said, through a new "partnership between the township and the board of education."

The project, estimated to cost about $4.5 million, would be funded through the use of Open Space Trust Fund money. Open space funds, under law, may be used for the town's acquisition of open space lands, for historic preservation and for recreation.

"I was skeptical in the very beginning," Barberio said, "because our main goal was not to raise taxes at all."

The idea to use open space money would eliminate the need for a tax increase, a notion that helped turn the mayor into a true believer.

"I thought this was a perfect way to build a partnership between the township and the Board of Education," he said.

Township Attorney John Inglesino testified next about nuts and bolts issues involving the project.

The lawyer began with a little history about the Open Space Trust Fund. The fund was established by a voter referendum in 1988. A special tax was imposed that year to put aside money for the acquisition of open space lands and historic properties. In 2006, another voter referendum decided that the fund also could be used for "capital improvements."

Inglesino said about $1.5 million is collected each year via the open space tax. Approximately $400,000 of that is available for these improvements. 

The specific improvements the Fields of Dreams plan would cover include two turf fields, two sets of lights, two tracks and fencing.

Inglesino said the $4.5 million figure is a "conservative estimate on the high side." The actual cost, he said, likely will be lower, and the turf project "would not drain the Open Space Trust Fund." Assuming a 15-year amortization and annual bond repayments of $350,000-$400,000, the lawyer said more than $200,000 should still be available in the trust fund for other capital improvements. Additionally, he said, the switchover to turf fields would save the township about $70,000 per year in field maintenance costs.

In order for the plan to work, the township would have to have some sort of "property interest" in the fields now owned by the Board of Education, the lawyer said. That could entail the board selling or leasing the fields to the town. The final plan has yet to be unveiled, however, Iglesino said Parsippany will move carefully.

"Other towns have tried similar partnerships and run into legal trouble," he said, adding that Parsippany will try to avoid those pitfalls and that there will be constant opportunities for the public to be involved in the process.

In addition, he said, "the council will protect your interests."

Board member Anthony Mancuso said that the town government's willingness to use open space funds for an education-focused effort was "incredibly generous." He asked what the burden to the school board would be.

The mayor answered that the schools would lose exclusive use of the fields. The township would have 51 percent, or controlling, interest in the project, though schools would get priority. The specifics of regulating field use are still to be worked out, he added.

"We're still a long way off," said Barberio.

But he said there are many benefits to the plan.

Schools would save the expense of busing student-athletes to practices and home games that have to be held at the town fields, Jannerone, Veterans' Park and Smith.

Modern lighting systems would all but eliminate spillover light, which is intrusive to residents living near the fields. Parks and Forestry Director Jim Walsh added that the new lights would also be economical and environmentally friendly.

Track ovals in disrepair would be replaced, giving runners a safer experience.

Board member Fran Orthwein thanked the mayor, saying the Fields of Dreams plan "exemplifies shared services at its best."

The floor was opened to the public for what turned into a long stream of comments, for and against the proposal.

Several people wondered aloud whether it was appropriate to spend the money on recreation when many Parsippany residents are still dealing with the aftereffects of Hurricane Irene. 

"This subject (the turf fields) has nothing to do with that subject," said Mayor Barberio. "It's being taken care of."

Resident Monica Sclafani asked whether it was possible to take on the fields project while also helping acquire flooded-out homes for open space. Inglesino said yes.

Candace Aloiso, who lives in the area near Par High, said she was excited about the possibility of the Fields of Dreams project.

"There needs to be significant improvement to these fields," she said. "There isn't pride in our programs."

Former school board member Bob Crawford stood and took issue with the fact that Fields of Dreams meetings have been going on for months.

"From the get-go, the go-forward position was to make this happen," he said with apparent anger. "There was never any discussion, at least captured in the minutes by this committee, to determine whether this is good for the town of Parsippany. The question that was asked was: 'How do we make this happen?'"

Crawford said that he had received numerous emails from youth sports organizations imploring him to visit the Fields of Dreams website.

"It's a well-done site," he said. "The site surely presents a persuasive case as to why the Fields of Dreams should go forth. It does not present, perhaps, some of the questions we need answered."

He brought up potential resident issues, saying that there may be little light pollution, but "we don't want our neighborhoods to become parking lots. We do not want our neighborhoods to be filled with people parking their cars who are unknown to us and wandering around our neighborhood."

Barberio took offense to Crawford's statement and told him to sit down.  

"I have said that there are issues to be discussed," he said. "I'm not going to lie to any resident of Parsippany-Troy Hills. I'm in favor of this project. But there is still a lot that needs to be done and a lot that needs to be addressed. I addressed that tonight. Mr. Crawford seems to forget that I addressed that, but I did. Curfews, we have to talk about. We have to consider those residents on Brooklawn Drive."

Then he criticized Crawford for "politicizing this." 

As Crawford geared up to respond, BOE President Frank Calabria asked the men to move on.

Sports dad Michael Pietrowicz, who shot down the notion that he originated the fields idea, came to the microphone and said many people have been trying for years to get the school fields upgraded.

"The problem has been the source of funding," he said and repeated. "This meeting is the first step in a public process. An idea was planted. The mayor was skeptical. The mayor opened his mind, opened his ears, spent some money on excellent attorney work to see if the potential could grow. ... A lot of time and effort were put in to come up with the idea. I applaud the board, I applaud the mayor for coming up with a creative idea. That's what's before us today."

Pietrowicz said that so far, more than 3,000 people have visited the Fields of Dreams website, which details the advantages of installing turf fields. One of the pros cited is that according to statistics, it appears turf fields have safety advantages over fields of grass. 

Resident Bob Venezia wasn't buying.

"The safety claims are dubious at best," he said.

He also claimed that resurfacing a turf field, which must be done every 10-15 years, costs 80 percent of the price of a new field, calling the saving claims "nonexistent." Ultimately, though, he said he sees the advantages of the turf fields, but not of the new lighting.

"You can conceivably do one without the other," Venezia said.

Pat Petaccia said the project would circumvent the intended spirit of the open space ordinance. 

"Why are we breaking our own ordinance?" she asked, insisting that the money is supposed to be about open space acquisition. "It's all inappropriate in my eyes. This should be on school referendum."

Inglesino responded, saying that the ordinance would not be violated.

Chris Joyce, a sports parent, said he believes the pros outweigh the cons and accused some of those speaking against the project of "political grandstanding."

"I urge the board to proceed with caution," said resident Roman Hoshowsky. "This board has already handled things that have wound up in costly litigation. Before you go and build this field of rainbows and unicorns, I urge you to spell out who is going to be able to use these fields, and the devil's going to be in the details.

"I urge you to put this up for public referendum," Hoshowsky continued. "Also, what's the possibility of getting school groups to raise money for this? Look into other possibilities for funding it so you don't have to share it with the township. You're opening up a whole different can of worms here. I can see years and years of arguing going on."