Voters reject $2.17 million bond for new track, field

sarah nolan/town journal

Ho-Ho-Kus voters rejected a referendum seeking $2.17 million in bonding to upgrade the track and field on Lloyd Road during a special school district election on Dec. 9. Voters cast 930 "no" votes to 355 "yes" votes.

Ho-Ho-Kus residents largely rejected a referendum seeking $2.17 million in bonding to upgrade the track and field on Lloyd Road during a special school district election on Dec. 9.

Just 355 residents voted to fund the project with 930 casting "no" votes. The district intended to replace its grass field and cinder track with a synthetic turf field containing organic infill - not crumb rubber, which has been widely debated due to health concerns - and an all-weather track. Officials have said the track and field are both in disrepair and "hazardous," as well as being difficult and expensive to maintain.

"The Ho-Ho-Kus Board of Education and administration wish to thank Ho-Ho-Kus residents for expressing their thoughts through the ballot box," a statement from the district said. "While we did not receive enough yes-votes to proceed with the field and track project, we do appreciate all those who supported the process of researching the possibility of a new field."

The board had been discussing the potential project for over a year before deciding to put the issue to a vote. While many residents felt the price tag for a new facility was too hefty, the board did receive debt service aid to cover approximately 40 percent of the synthetic turf field portion of the project, amounting to around $700,000 from the New Jersey Department of Education.

Still, it appears that the tax increase of $118 per the average-assessed home in the borough over a 10-year bond was a factor for many casting their vote, as expressed by residents at meetings and in letters to the editor. Other issues heavily debated throughout the process included the safety and aesthetics of a turf field.

Many wondered why the board didn't choose to address just the track, which is of particular concern for safety reasons according to school officials, and leave the grass field. But the board said the grass would need to be addressed and replaced either way during construction and they felt putting grass or sod in the infield would be "throwing good money after bad," since the field cannot be properly maintained due to excessive use. The school district owns the only two fields in the borough - North Field and the Lloyd Road field. Lloyd is used daily during physical education classes, for school sports and for the borough's Recreation Department sports.

"We are unable to sustain a grass field because of the near constant use of the field, which results in a surface that is comprised of hard, compacted dirt and thin, patchy grass areas soiled by goose droppings," Board President Colleen Federer said in a letter to residents before the referendum. "We would all like to have 'Yankee Stadium' grass on our field. That is not realistic. Our school field could never be regularly and extensively rested, generously and daily watered, and fertilized and chemically treated, all of which are required to achieve a lush grass athletic field surface. It would be imprudent to install a sod field knowing that we would be unable to protect that investment."

E-mail: nolan@northjersey.com

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Voters reject $2.17 million bond for new track, field