The vote to approve replacing the tuft at NNHS with TURF is upon us.  It's tight.  The City Council needs to understand how profound an impact a "no," or "Let's Delay" vote might have.  So in addition to the measures below (signing the petition, emailing City Councilors and reaching out those Councilors you know), we are organizing a RALLY at City Hall Monday @ 6:30.

Where:  City Hall, 2nd Floor, outside City Hall Chambers (Room 207)

When:  6:30PM, Monday, December 18th.  If you can stay through the vote, that'd be great.

What to Wear:  Orange

Signage:  Pls bring a sign saying something like, "Support the Turf," or "Preserve the Turf."

There is no opportunity for public comment.

In addition...you can help by:

1. Signing this petition if you haven’t already and
   
   
2. Emailing Newton’s City Councilors at [email protected] using the language below.

More background:

Without a restored artificial turf field at Newton North High School, our Newton Youth Soccer programs, which serve approximately 1,500 children annually, will suffer immensely given the utter lack of available field space in the City. 

Since we all strongly believe that maximizing outdoor sports and recreational activities is a vital component of a physically and mentally healthy Newton, we need to voice our support for the upcoming City Council to vote YES on replacing the turf with…turf!  If the Mayor’s turf replacement proposal is defeated and instead the current turf field is replaced with grass, the negative impact will be widespread because:

1. A grass field has zero chance of holding up to the amount of use demanded even by NNHS teams. This fact will force NNHS teams onto other City fields thus depriving Newton’s Youth programs of access to those fields;
   
   
2. Grass fields are frequently closed for maintenance which further puts pressure on the entire system; and

3.  Grass fields are regularly closed due to rain (and sometimes even due to the THREAT of rain) compounding the issue.

Replacing the old turf with modern turf is the only answer.

The crucial vote is Monday, December 18^th @ 7PM so the time to act is now.

What can you do?  Join Newton Youth Soccer and the Newton North Tiger Athletics Booster Club in strongly supporting replacing the turf at NNHS with turf by:

1. Signing this petition if you haven’t already and
   
   
2. Emailing Newton’s City Councilors at [email protected] using the language below.

Even More Background:

Mayor Fuller has submitted a proposal to the Newton City Council requesting authorization to spend funds to replace the deteriorated turf at Dickinson Field, the field used by nine Newton North sports teams and countless youth sports organizations.  The current turf is damaged, dangerous and unusable during heavy rain.

The 13-year-old track and field needs to be replaced because it has passed its useful life and requires frequent maintenance and repair, delivering diminished quality and safety to our athletes. Unfortunately, several organizations oppose the effort and would like a grass field installed instead. This is not a viable plan given the regular use of the field – on many days for 5 hours straight – that would cause grass to degrade quickly.

While many resourced private sports clubs benefit from renting private turf fields, the school based teams and non-profit clubs are left with unevenly maintained and frequently closed grass fields.  All kids deserve a right to play. 

We need your support in letting City Counselors know the replacement of the turf is vital to all of Newton's athletic programs, for young and old.

SUGGESTED LANGUAGE FOR LETTER TO COUNCILORS:

Dear Newton City Councilors:

We support the Mayor’s turf replacement plan at NNHS.  A grass field and track is not a viable solution for Newton North athletics or Newton’s youth sports programs for the following reasons:

• The existing turf field hosts 9 Newton North sports programs with practices and games 7 days a week in the spring and the fall for upwards of 5 hours a day. A grass field is unable to withstand this level of use. In addition, many youth sports teams use NNHS’s turf field for practice and games. These teams would have no place to play, likely reducing or eliminating many vital youth sports programs.
  
  
• Only a turf field can be used in inclement weather or when the ground is saturated, which is a common occurrence in the fall and spring in New England. During bad weather, grass fields are frequently “closed” for multiple days to prevent significant damage resulting in the postponement of games. Sometimes grass fields are closed simply due to the threat of rain!Replacing the turf with a grass field could mean NNHS teams would be unable to complete a season as MIAA requires all sports to be completed by a specified date.
  
  
• NNHS already faces a “field crunch.” It only has two grass fields on its campus. Because of field space availability, many NNHS athletes must arrange for transportation to fields that are not on the Newton North campus for practices and games or practice before 7 AM. A grass field would further complicate an already very challenging situation.
  
  
• Certain sports like track and field hockey require synthetic surfaces for NNHS athletes to compete at the highest levels.
  
  
• The synthetic track is used by Newton residents of all ages from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year. A grass track cannot sustain this level of use.
  
  
• Every high school in Newton North’s conference – the Bay State Conference – has a turf field on its campus and most have two. It is our understanding that every Division 1 high school in Massachusetts has access to at least one turf field for athletics.
  
  
• This is an equity issue – While many well heeled private sports clubs benefit from renting private turf fields, the school based teams and non-profit clubs that are accessible to everyone at relatively low cost are left with poorly maintained grass fields, many of which close when it rains.All kids no matter their family income deserve to play sports on decent fields for their physical and emotional well being.

Let’s support our Newton North athletes and set them up for success with a turf field and track.

Please also consider calling your City Councilor. Link to phone numbers.

Thank you!

Clifford Slater, President Plus The Board of Director
Newton Youth Soccer