To the Editor:
I hope the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) will accept the referral of the proposal to install artificial turf at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) as a development of regional impact.
While I believe the proponents of the plan mean well, I think there are many unanswered questions about the risks of these manufactured petrochemical products: the effect of runoff on groundwater, the health impact of the product itself, and the chemicals used to clean and maintain it. I am also concerned by the vagueness of the funding plan, and who will pay for the maintenance, disposal, and replacement of the material.
I don’t think the community should be hustled into a development of this scope without proper consideration and oversight. Further, I resent the belittling and misleading characterization of those who have raised pertinent and legitimate questions about the costs and benefits of these artificial materials versus a consideration of alternatives, including a thorough exploration of better-maintained natural grass fields.
We’re all proud of our kids’ brilliant athletic successes, seemingly so far unhampered by good old grass fields. I am parent of a former MVRHS varsity football and lacrosse player, and, I hope, a future one, now in middle school. He went off-Island to a Nike lacrosse camp this summer where the field was artificial turf. A laser thermometer measured the temperature of the field at midday as 104° — essentially unplayable.
We need to look more closely at this project, and I believe the commission is the appropriate body to do so.
Geraldine Brooks
West Tisbury
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