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Parks officials push Broad River athletic complex; council members raise PFAS and drainage concerns
Summary
Parks director and staff asked the committee to fund remaining work at the Broad River athletic complex; committee members acknowledged demand for fields but expressed concern about PFAS in hybrid turf and the project's drainage and total cost.
Parks and Recreation Director Robert (last name not specified) and staff presented plans for a multi‑field Broad River athletic complex on March 31, saying the city has already committed several million dollars and seeks additional funding to complete fields, lighting and parking.
Robert said the project would create three high‑quality fields, parking, restrooms and support amenities and that about $5 million has already been accumulated for the site. The current package before the committee includes roughly $2 million more for field construction and another $2 million in drainage work led by public works and engineering; together, project alternates and drainage could push total program costs into the high single‑digit millions.
Several council members praised the need for improved recreation fields but raised environmental health questions about hybrid or artificial turf. Council Member Lisa Shanahan said the committee should “carefully evaluate” whether any turf products contain PFAS; Council Member Barbara Smith and others flagged watershed and water‑quality risks because runoff from the site ultimately reaches drinking‑water and coastal resources. First Taxing District testing capacity was raised; Council Member Jalen Seed noted regional lab bottlenecks for PFAS analysis.
Parks staff said the planned fields would use a hybrid approach (synthetic infield, natural outfield), would avoid crumb‑rubber fill and would pursue vendors that can demonstrate non‑PFAS materials. Parks also said drainage improvements for the site are being designed now and that the city intends to coordinate drainage work, field construction and grant opportunities to avoid losing earlier state or private funding.
Why it matters: The Broad River complex is a major parks investment that would expand tournament‑grade play opportunities for Norwalk youth sports; it also sits in an area that has required drainage remediation. Council members called for stronger assurances on materials testing and environmental safeguards before committing final funding.
Ending: Parks staff said they will provide the committee with detailed cost breakdowns and vendor information, and engineering staff will coordinate drainage design and grant timing so the city can bid the project in the near term.
