BRIGHTON, N.Y. — Brighton Central School District presented three solutions for its contaminated athletic field and is now asking for public input.
News10NBC’s Erin Mahon went to the district’s afternoon public forum and spoke with parents afterward. The district’s three solutions range in cost from $1 million to a savings of $500,000.
After hosting lengthy public information sessions previously, the district switched things up with a forum setting. The presentation lasted 15 minutes, leaving the rest of the time for people to walk to each station and ask questions about the solutions presented.
The options presented
The first option maintains all original project goals, including increased field area for multiple sports and longer seasonal use, but it also carries the highest price tag at one million dollars. This cost is in addition to the original construction costs and those incurred since the project’s stall earlier this year.
The second option is a quarter of the cost of the first, but it detracts one of the multi-use turf fields the initial project aimed to add. The final option saves money, about $500,000. It returns the field to grass, foregoing the project’s original purpose to change it to artificial turf.
All options raise the field by two feet, covering the contaminants instead of excavating and dumping the soil elsewhere.
The forum
At the last session, people grew upset during the Q&A portion. Many expressed concern over the district not taking the public’s input in the project.
This time, neighbors can submit questions and comments for the next week.
“It’s a great sign that the school board and school district are soliciting input early in the process from parents and residents in Brighton,” David Masur said.
While some appreciated the presentation and the openness of the forum, the format also meant questions and answers weren’t heard as a group.
“So many people here have different skills, different knowledge bases. And so when a community member asks a question, it’s a learning experience for everyone in the audience and so when you have this small informational session followed by the conversations, I think there’s a lot missed for people to learn from each other,” Kim McGarry said.
The district says it will review the feedback from the forums and the board will move forward with a decision. It will not be coming to another vote.
The district declined News10NBC’s request for an interview.
“We’ll see how the information collection process goes that the district set up. But the options varied dramatically so it gives the public a lot to think about,” Masur said.
A second forum was held later that evening, running until 6:30 p.m. People who couldn’t attend can still submit questions and comments for another week.
CLICK HERE: For more information on the proposed solutions and how to provide feedback.
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