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West Bridgewater committee moves to tighten field use after parent reports trash and trespass
Summary
A parent’s public comment about unauthorized weekend use of turf fields prompted the school committee to approve new community-use policies, consider new signage and locked equipment, and coordinate with police to monitor weekend access.
A public comment by Glenn Turner prompted the West Bridgewater School Committee on Aug. 19 to move toward stricter controls on athletic-field use after he reported repeated nonapproved use by outside teams, trash and what he described as public urination and threats.
Turner identified himself for the record as president of the Football Association and said he has observed adult teams and personal trainers using the turf when no district groups were scheduled. The committee discussed immediate, noncapital changes including expanded signage, locking soccer and field-hockey nets when not in supervised use, clearer online instructions for requesting field access and weekly notifications to the police about weekend schedules. "Thank you for bringing it up to us so that we could be aware and can address it," Turner said during public comment.
A committee speaker noted that the police chief, Chief Nixon, "was very receptive in terms of helping us look after the property," and that police asked only to be notified when a group is known not to have permission. The committee also discussed directing athletics staff to compile and share scheduled user lists with the police on Fridays, and to post clearer web and gate signage directing groups to the online application portal.
Members said the new KF community-use policies and accompanying procedural guidelines (KG) approved at the meeting will centralize applications and allow the district to track permitted events and the revolving account that funds turf replacement. Board members said they will add a fee schedule to the procedural document at the September meeting.
The committee asked administration to report back in the fall with an update on whether the changes reduce unauthorized activity and improve communications with the town police.
