The City Council unanimously awarded a contract on Wednesday night to install artificial turf at Nursery Field, signaling an end to Rye’s long-running turf war.
The recommended contractor, Port Chester-based DeRosa Sports Construction, Inc., specializes in the construction of sports fields. The company installed synthetic turf at Rye High School’s Nugent Stadium in 2020.
DeRosa’s bid came in at slightly more than $2 million — the lowest of four bidders on the project — which does not account for already-paid soft costs that bring the total project to $2.9 million.
An analysis ordered by the city of the materials to be used by the winning bidder did not indicate the presence of cancer causing PFAS. Soil testing of the field, however, did reveal contaminants, which will now be removed as part of the artificial turf installation.
Because of those contaminants, the current field was deemed to be inappropriate for active recreational use. To continue using Nursery Field for sports, the city would have to cap the field with artificial turf or dig up the upper layer of the field and replace it with fresh dirt.
Testing of the field during the bidding process found elevated levels of pesticides and metals, including arsenic and lead. As part of the remediation, the soil will be transported to a solid waste facility, the cost of which is included in the bid package, said City Manager Greg Usry.
The remediation is not considered a big job since the soil is not contaminated enough to require regulatory action. Usry added that the removal of contaminants will not lengthen the timeline of the project.
“The whole project is not terribly complicated from an engineering standpoint,” he said.
There doesn’t appear to be anything in the report issued by city staff on Oct. 15 that would derail or delay the artificial turf-transformation project at the city-owned property.
The project is being funded by a private nonprofit donor group called Let the Kids Play, also operating under the name Rye Youth Athletic Foundation. Let the Kids Play had pushed for the project and agreed to pay for it, arguing that parents in the community were unhappy that many sporting events had to be canceled after it rained because Nursery Field does not drain well.
The turf proposal ran into heated opposition from community non-profits and environmental groups looking to maintain the grass surface while upgrading drainage at the site. They voiced concern that the artificial turf would contain chemicals and microfibers that could be detrimental to surrounding wetlands and Blind Brook, and potentially cause flooding and traffic problems. And they were concerned about other health and safety issues related to artificial turf that have been receiving attention around the country.
When the final vote was taken, one council member who has been a supporter of the controversial project voiced her hearty approval.
“Lets go!” exclaimed Councilwoman Julie Souza, a Democrat. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
The motion passed 6-0, with Councilwoman Sara Goddard absent.
The carpet is likely to be rolled out sometime in the spring, Usry said. But first crews will need to regrade the field, remove soil, and install a drainage system.
Installation of the artificial turf field for local youth sports teams would draw to a close two decades of stop-and-start discussions over field space at the 6.75-acre Milton Road parcel.
Meanwhile, an injunction filed in April hoping to stall the project was dismissed in court last month.
The ruling, handed down on Sept. 10, stated that the plaintiffs — the local Friends of Nursery Field group and 11 of its members — had failed to address shortcomings in the project’s environmental review process.