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County Cancels Artificial Turf Contract for Soquel Park
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County Cancels Artificial Turf Contract for Soquel Park
Supervisors Look at Creating a Community
Committee to Address Questions about Turf
By Linda Fridy
Seven months after the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the start of plans to install artificial turf at two Soquel soccer fields, it made an abrupt about-face.
On Mar. 16, the board canceled the design contract and discussed the creation of a community review committee to vet the pros and cons of artificial turf.
Neighbors who had raised many questions welcomed the delay, and want to continue discussions specific to Anna Jean Cummings Park. However, they hope that their specific concerns won't be drowned out by a countywide discussion about the efficacy of artificial turf.
Last August, the county parks department, with funding from the county's redevelopment agency, requested approval to go ahead with planning the turf replacement in order to save water and extend the playing seasons on two popular fields at Anna Jean Cummings Park. The park is adjacent to Soquel High School.
The request was unanimously approved, with the additional direction to include information on operational costs, savings, maintenance and eventual replacement. At the time, no installation costs were presented and supervisors also discussed extending the artificial turf to other fields at the park.
When the contractor, Verde Designs of Santa Clara, began presenting that information at community meetings, Soquel residents responded with a wide range of questions and concerns. They also criticized the company's figures for not matching previous information from the parks department and not including future replacement costs.
"People had questions about health concerns, water conservation and water issues, financial sustainability and a need to know if there are alternatives," said Supervisor John Leopold, who represents Soquel on the County Board and asked that the contract be dropped.
Among the funding issues, no one has confirmed if redevelopment money can be used when the fields need to be replaced. The replacement cost could be in the millions and the fields might need replacing in a decade.
Committee Make-Up Questioned
The suggestion to form an artificial turf committee also came from Leopold, but while he envisions a county-wide vetting of the artificial turf question, Soquel residents continue to consider it a neighborhood issue.
"It wasn't about Anna Jean Cummings. It's about whether to pursue artificial turf as a strategy in any of our parks," Leopold said after the meeting.
He suggested a 13-member committee with several water and environmental representatives, but only three neighborhood association members from around the county.
Soquel residents don't want to surrender that decision to a county-wide committee on which they may have only one voice.
"It's our park. Let us weigh in," said neighbor David Leland.
The supervisors opted to give more time for input on the committee and put off a vote on that issue until Apr. 20.
Can Consensus Be Found?
Parks director Joe Schultz admits he was surprised by the outcry against artificial turf. He and Supervisor Leopold met with the Soquel Neighbors Alliance in early 2009, and the issue that riled people then was a possible fence between the park and the high school, which was dropped after the outcry.
The mention of artificial turf did not initially raise concerns.
"There wasn't any push-back," he said.
That may be because neighbors didn't expect a $2 million project to go forward without an environmental review.
The Soquel community criticizes the process – or lack thereof – that the county used and wants to be sure it has a say in future discussions. They point to the workshops held by the county's redevelopment agency last year as a positive example of how to involve the community.
People seemed unwilling to listen to the information at the community meetings, Schultz said.
He is still amazed that the Mar. 2 crowd jeered county health officer Dr. Poki Namkung when she said her research showed few health concerns surrounding the use of artificial turf.
He added his department never got to talk about natural options like coconut husks instead of shredded tires for the fill under the fields.
"I think there are a lot of misconceptions about artificial turf," he said. "[Artificial fields] have been in place for more than 40 years in Europe."
Confusion may be a better word, say neighbors.
"The information on artificial turf seems really subjective. I can find as many pros as cons depending on what argument you want to make. It's a battle of the experts," said resident Leland.
To address this continuing debate, the California Legislature ordered a state-sponsored review of artificial turf safety, due to be completed in September.
Schultz put to rest one rumor that the county had to install artificial turf as part of a Prop 50 grant. The conservation measures promised in that multi-agency project can include replacing irrigation systems with sophisticated products that can measure moisture, for example, he said. He's also open to finding another water supply for any of the county's parks.
"It's crazy to dump drinking water on fields in this day and age," he said.
Soquel Fields Were Topic of Debate Before Turf
The question of artificial turf opened a long-simmering debate about the use of fields in the upper portion of the park.
Artificial turf fields are generally fenced to prevent animals from getting on them. A possibility of high, locked fences outraged some community members for both esthetic and access reasons.
While park officials suggested the higher fences to prevent off-hour use of the fields — a complaint of neighbors — the suggestion is seen by many as a further co-opting of the fields for soccer leagues only.
"These fields are built and are maintained with public funds. Is it proper or even legal to turn them over to a select group of people for their exclusive use? That seems to be what the county parks department is proposing to do. It sets a nasty precedent," said Bob Smith, who lives in the neighborhood adjoining the park.
Lisa Sheridan can appreciate both sides of the issue. She's a Soquel resident who once worked with the group that advocated for public use of the land that became Anna Jean Cummings Park.
Sheridan also has a daughter who is an avid soccer player.
"The soccer world has been short-sighted because they are so desperate for fields. When a chance came along to extend the season, of course they said yes. … [But artificial turf] doesn't resolve most of the issues, especially for kids," she said.
Are Fields Really for Kids?
Residents seem unconvinced that recreational youth leagues would benefit from the extended seasons.
"When my kids were young we had community sports run by parents. Now we have professional coaches charging huge amounts of money for kids to play on competition teams. They make a living off of this. We don't really need to pollute the earth, destroy a park to accommodate them," said Michele D'Amico, another neighbor.
The parks department's Schultz said these types of concerns are new to him, but his department has considered a lottery to address the demand for field use.
He also wants to investigate leasing private fields or land that could help accommodate the number of teams, including other sports such as lacrosse.
Capitola resident Sandi Pensinger would love to be able to use natural grass fields at the county parks for her dog training and agility classes. While she has had success at parks in other counties around the state – and references to allay concerns about clean-up – she said she has been shut out of local parks and pays more to rent school facilities.
An artificial-turf-only review will not address these concerns, neighbors say.
While Leopold said that an artificial turf committee recommendation would not eliminate a local process for specific park projects, concerned Soquel citizens said they will be paying more attention and hope the county has learned to bring neighbors into any planning effort at the earliest stages.
Vote Postponed
Supervisors postponed a vote on the creation of a committee to review artificial turf. Supervisor John Leopold suggested the following structure:
— Two members nominated by the Parks and Recreation Commission.
— One member nominated by the Water Advisory Commission.
— One member nominated by the Commission on the Environment.
— One member nominated by the Hazardous Materials Advisory Commission.
— Two members nominated by environmental organizations that study water runoff.
— Three members nominated by neighborhood associations in the unincorporated county.
— One representative nominated by SEIU Local 521 (preferably parks maintenance).
— Two members nominated by the local sports organizations
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