A new working group has been established to review the maintenance of town fields and to determine whether any of them would benefit from artificial turf as a potential solution to the “overuse problem.”
At a recent Select Board meeting, eight individuals were appointed to serve on the Fields Working Group. Those people included:
- Roy Epstein, Select Board representative
- Marc Valenti, Lexington Public Works
- Dante Muzzioli, local landscaper
- Fitzie Cowen, field operations director for youth soccer
- Mike Capitani, Recreation Commission representative
- Erin Rowland, a supporter of grass fields
- Jay Marcotte, Public Works director, ex officio
“This is a dynamic group,” Marcotte said. “… I think we’re going to come out of this with a real strong understanding of where the town needs to go.”
The School Committee also has the option to appoint a representative to serve as part of the group.
Creating the working group follows concerns raised by residents over field conditions, which Town Administrator Patrice Garvin called an “overuse problem.” According to Recreation Director Brandon Fitts, the fields used by his department’s programs are stressed and overused because they are in use almost year-round.
“A lot of [the overuse] is generated by the youth groups because we have a large number of youth groups that are active and use the fields,” Garvin said. “All of our turf fields, at the moment, are on the school property. That kind of limits our access to some of those turf fields.”
In December, town officials called for the creation of a working group.
“One of the things I’d like this group to do is maybe look at a town field we could put turf on,” Garvin said. “That way, it would be used to the maximum amount with the youth groups.”
To ensure diverse opinions are included in the group, Garvin appointed Erin Rowland, who had expressed concerns about using artificial turf.
An earlier version of this article had the incorrect title for Fitzie Cowen. Cowen is the field operations director for youth soccer.