Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education Announces New Turf Fields for Parsippany High School and Parsippany Hills High School The Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education announced plans for new synthetic turf fields to be installed at Parsippany High and Parsippany Hills High Schools, a move that will have an immediate, positive impact on the district’s students, sports teams, and community. New Home of the Redhawks – Parsippany High School New Home of the Vikings – Parsippany Hills High School Turf Fields FAQs 1. How did we get here? For over 20 years, the Board of Education and community leaders have tried to find ways to improve the unsatisfactory conditions at the main athletic complexes at both high schools. In October 2012, the Board of Education asked the community to approve a tax increase for field improvements with a 7.7 million dollar Referendum which was defeated by 628 votes (1745 to 2372). As a result of the outcome of the referendum an AdHoc Committee was formed comprised of, community members, Board members, and administrators, which looked into funding the project through door-to-door donations, which did not seem feasible. 2. What is Being Proposed? The goal of the Board of Education was to fund this project to bring the needed improvements to the fields without additional community tax dollars or reducing money to students/classrooms. The Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education has approved a $2,533,000 million project for athletic field improvements. The projected cost for the fields’ project is $2,268,000, which has been budgeted in the 2015- 2016 capital outlay budget. In addition, the installation of new lights at PHHS and replacement of the current lights at PHS is projected to cost between $600,000 to $700,000 and will be paid for through the Energy Savings Improvement Project initiative being conducted throughout the district. The projected costs were developed by the district’s architect. The funding for this project does not cut any programs or services to students. These savings came from last year’s existing and budgeted accounts and from energy grants. Item Parsippany High School Parsippany Hills High School Turf Field Construction $915,000.00 $900,000.00 Track Resurface $265,000.00 N/A Project Cost $228,000.00 $225,000.00 Total Cost $1,408,000.00 $1,125,000.00 Lighting $300,000.00 $320,000.00 Lighting to be included in ESIP 3. What is ESIP? (Energy Savings Improvement Program) A portion of the Parsippany Troy-Hills RFP for the Energy Savings Improvement Program included Lighting Upgrades for all of the district’s facilities, including the athletic fields. The contract was awarded to Honeywell by way of a Board of Education resolution on November 14th, 2014. Honeywell has confirmed that the replacement of the athletic field lighting at the Parsippany High School and the additional lighting at the Parsippany Hills High School is within the scope of this project and therefore allowable expenses. The Energy Saving Plan for the district includes engineering, construction, and project management and the total cost of the services will be paid for out of the energy savings that the district will accrue. 4. What is the Scope of the Project? The scope of the project will be to replace the grass fields at Parsippany High School and Parsippany Hills High School with new permanent turf fields, replace the lights at the Parsippany High School field and install new lights at the Parsippany Hills High School field, and re-surface the existing track at Parsippany High School with the anticipated schedule below: 5. What is the Annual Budget Savings Associated with the New Turf Fields? The annual projected savings is $110,000 and is achieved through the elimination of the current grass field maintenance program (seeding, water, labor, chemicals, lining, etc.) and the significant reduction in off-site busing costs associated with transporting students to town owned turf fields because the high school fields are not fit for use. 6. How long will the fields last? Artificial turf surfaces typically last between 8-12 years. Replacement of artificial turf involves removing the turf layer and replacing it with a new turf layer. This would cost in the range of $300,000 - $400,000 per field. Given the projected savings from the elimination of the current for maintenance and off-site bussing, even with replacement costs factored in, artificial turf remains far cheaper, and thus sensible for the long-term. 7. Facility Use of Fields - The Board of Education believes that community-based activities make an important contribution to a child’s education and we encourage the responsible use of our facilities by Parsippany residents. The Board of Education will have 100% control over who uses the fields, what times, etc. by application through the district’s comprehensive Use of Facilities Policy and Regulation 7510. A community meeting will be held with a sub-committee of the Board of Education to discuss local community concerns. http://www.pthsd.k12.nj.us/facilityuse.html Current and Proposed Use of the New Fields The current field conditions at both high schools are not up to safety and NJSIAA standards. Unsatisfactory field and track conditions have impacted play during competitions, have resulted in opposing team refusal to play and do not permit high schools to hold NJSIAA state track competitions. Currently the main athletic fields are limited to football games only (15 per year for freshman, JV and Varsity) and very limited band and football practice. The fields are not available for physical education classes, boys and girls soccer, field hockey, cheerleading, baseball, softball, track and many other activities. The fields sit idle for most the calendar year. The two biggest benefits to installing the new turf fields are the dramatic increase in the utilization and the play hours available and the consistent, safe playing surface provide for our students and the community. Once turfed, these fields can be open for play year round. Students can play on it during and immediately after rainy weather. Physical education classes will benefit as well as numerous boys and girls sports, including band, cheerleading, soccer, football, lacrosse will have playing time on the new fields. etc. The Board of Education will continue to have 100% control to access and use of the facility. When not in use for school programs, the fields will be available for community use based on the Board of Education policies. We anticipate use by the town’s youth programs. 8. Lighting – The modern lighting systems have a zero backlight impact on the neighbors and will actually improve the current backlighting conditions at Parsippany High School. The proposed field lighting will be a modern more efficient lighting. The existing lighting at Parsippany High School is sport lighting on wood poles with poor shielding. The new lights are being supplied with the maximum shielding to minimize lighting spill over to the maximum extent possible. Our engineers and architects have tremendous experience in this area and have demonstrated to the Board and the local residents the benefits of installing of these modern zero backlight fixtures. 9. School Safety and Security – The Board of Education strives to ensure a safe and secure environment to all persons including students, staff, and visitors, who lawfully enter upon our District property. There has been much public debate raised concerning the use of synthetic turf. We have discussed these concerns with our engineers and architect and have reviewed major research studies conducted by state and federal agencies. Major research studies conclude the use of artificial turf fields is not associated with elevated health risks addressing inhalation, ingestion, dermal exposure, and cancer and, that there has been no observed major differences in overall injury rates between natural fields and turf fields. 10. How will the installation of the synthetic fields at the High School affect water run-off? The plan is to design the field(s) so that the peak rate of runoff does not increase after the field is installed. The fields have been designed with subsurface storm water detention systems which will retain and slowly release storm water from the property. This will account for an overall reduction in the rate of storm water runoff from the site. What types of fields do schools in the Northwest New Jersey Athletic Conference have? Schools Turf Academy of Saint Elizabeth No Boonton High School yes Butler High School yes Chatham High School yes Delbarton School yes Dover High School yes Hackettstown High School yes Hanover Park High School installation spring 2015 High Point High School yes Hopatcong High School no Jefferson Township High School yes Kinnelon High School yes Kittatinny High School no Lenape Valley High School yes Madison High School yes Montville High School yes Morris Catholic High School yes Morris Hills High School yes Morris Knolls High School yes, new this year Morristown High School yes Mount Olive High School yes Mountain Lakes High School yes Newton High School yes North Warren no Parsippany High School no Parsippany Hills High School no Pequannock High School yes Pope John XXIII High School yes Randolph Township School District yes Roxbury High School yes Sparta High School no Sussex County Tech High School no Vernon Township High School yes Villa Walsh Academy yes Wallkill Valley High School no West Morris Central no West Morris Mendham yes Whippany Park High School installation spring 2015 .