Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facility Surface Decision topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Brighton board asks staff to explore natural grass at Council Rock after turf presentation
Summary
After a presentation from Marathon Engineering estimating a synthetic-turf option at about $600,000 and addressing community PFAs concerns, the Brighton board signaled no objection to staff pursuing a natural-grass specification for the Council Rock Primary play area rather than committing to synthetic turf.
Matt Tomlinson of Marathon Engineering told the Brighton Central School District Board of Education that a full synthetic-turf installation for the sloped play area behind Council Rock Primary — including sidewalks, fencing and retaining walls — has been estimated at about $600,000. Tomlinson said synthetic turf extends usable seasonality, drains more quickly than frozen ground and requires less frequent establishment work than natural grass, but it carries higher upfront cost and maintenance differences.
Tomlinson described tradeoffs the design team had evaluated: keeping natural grass would still require major site work (grading, drainage and potentially irrigation) and would not match the same seasonality benefits as synthetic turf. He also reviewed alternative synthetic infill options and said suppliers can provide third-party testing that, in the samples they’ve shown, found no PFAs. "That total estimated price with all the improvements ... around $600,000," Tomlinson said during the presentation.
Board members pressed for cost comparisons and clarity about use. Several trustees emphasized that the Council Rock area is designed primarily for PE, play and younger children rather than varsity athletics. Lou and other staff noted that the campus referendum for the main campus project specifically referenced synthetic surfaces, whereas the referendum and motion for the Council Rock work did not specify synthetic turf, which gives the district flexibility to write bid specifications for natural grass if it chooses.
After discussion, the board chair asked whether anyone objected to staff moving forward to explore a natural-grass specification for Council Rock instead of committing to synthetic turf; no board member objected. The board did not take a formal roll-call vote on the question; staff characterized the outcome as direction to the design team to draft natural-grass specifications and to provide cost and maintenance comparisons for future meetings.
The next procedural step is for staff and the OACM (owner, architect, construction manager) team to draft alternative specifications, obtain competitive bids if requested, and return to the board with cost, warranty and maintenance details before any final procurement decision.
Provenance: Presentation began with the Council Rock capital-project update and Matt Tomlinson’s remarks (topic intro: SEG 044; topic finish: SEG 451).
