The Glen Rock Borough Council approved a three million dollar bond ordinance that will put the down payment for the construction of a new artificial turf field where, currently, a synthetic turf lies.

At the meeting of Council and Mayor on May 28, many residents posed questions, revisiting concerns within the town for quite a while. Many of these topics include safety, lighting, storm drain off and revenue that will pay for this large construction project. Ongoing debate of this subject has been going for the last few years.

Yet seemingly out of the blue, the council decided to pass the ordinance that allows for the down payment for construction, which can be included in the 2014 budget which was passed recently.

To address the questions about this project from the previous council meetings, Pam Biggs said that she has been preparing a FAQ covering all aspects of the project. This document can be found on the Glen Rock Borough website.

“Growing a natural turf field has not been successful despite hiring professional contractors in the past,” said the Borough website. “Current proposals for further work do not provide a high level of certainty of success in growing grass in the future.”

With the state permits already secured for this project, the council now prepares an environmental impact study on the surrounding area, including Diamond Brook, wildlife, and the bordering forests.

The reason to upgrade to artificial turf, as explained by the council at the last meeting, is that the greatest amount of sports games can be played with the least amount of wear and tear with this field.

During wet climate conditions, fields can be more easily destroyed by athletes’ equipment.

According to Gary Sorge, a landscape specialist from Glen Rock’s engineering firm, “And after that, you would still need to give those fields periodic rests to prevent serious damage, which would be difficult given the play here.”

With the new turf still in ‘concept,’ the council predicts that the construction will start this fall.