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Owen J. Roberts board approves Brock fill option for athletic fields after debate over health and cost
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Summary
After debate about health, environmental and cost trade-offs, the Owen J. Roberts Board of School Directors voted to approve an alternative vendor proposal (proposal 2, Brock/Brock fill) to replace three synthetic turf fields and a running track so work can proceed this summer.
The Owen J. Roberts Board of School Directors voted on April 6 to approve an alternative construction proposal to replace three synthetic turf athletic fields and a running track, selecting the vendor option identified in the packet as proposal 2 (Brock/Brock fill) after extended discussion over safety, environmental testing and cost.
Board members spent more than an hour weighing three vendor proposals. Administrative staff recommended sticking with the industry-standard option (proposal 1, rubber-sand infill) and told the board that the original budget would cover that choice and that approving a proposal tonight would allow contractors to complete work over the summer. As the administration explained, approving tonight would avoid rebidding and keep the project on the planned timeline.
The board’s technical questions focused on comparative health and environmental risks and on durability. Jennifer Lee, a landscape architect and project manager with consultant K and W, told the board that the products specified are tested to applicable standards and said recent testing by a California health agency "has come to the same conclusion as many of the other testing efforts that it poses no significant health risk to the people using that field." She also noted that Brock-type infill is newer in the United States, with fewer installations than rubber-sand infill.
Several board members raised concerns about both evidence quality and lifecycle cost. One member said the Brock option appeared "to be over $200,000 more" and framed that extra cost against an estimated 10-year turf life, describing it as roughly "$21,000 per year or about $7,000 per field per year" as a way to compare value over time. Another member said published studies are conflicting and urged caution about drawing definitive health conclusions.
Speaker 5 summarized the trade-offs in favor of a more natural-feeling product, saying, "I still lean in favor of going with the natural product or more natural product, the wood chip product, and not using the rubber product or the recycled rubber product." Administrative staff and other board members countered that the rubber-sand option is the industry standard, has a longer track record locally and remains within the board’s budget.
After brief procedural confusion during an initial vote on the original proposal, a board member moved to vote on proposal 2; that alternative motion was seconded and put to a vote. One board member explicitly stated an abstention during the roll call; the chair declared the motion to approve proposal 2 passed. The board did not request rebidding and directed staff to proceed so the work can be completed before the next athletic season.
The board then opened the second public-comment period; no members of the public spoke. The meeting recessed for five minutes before a scheduled working session and the chair adjourned the special meeting.
What’s next: staff will proceed with the contractor under the approved proposal 2 and board members indicated they may request additional vendor interviews or a deeper procurement review for future field projects.
