Committee leans toward synthetic turf for main fields; Horace Mann field to remain natural

The Salem High School Building Committee discussed options for athletic surfaces at its Sept. 25 meeting and directed staff to proceed on the basis that the two primary new fields would be synthetic turf while the Horace Mann field would remain natural turf, subject to final budget and scheduling decisions. District representatives and the athletic director argued for synthetic turf because of heavy community use, maintenance limitations and scheduling needs. "We have a very, very strong preference for the synthetic fields," a district representative said, adding that community teams and school teams would use the fields heavily. Committee members and consultants raised concerns about lifecycle replacement and disposal of synthetic materials; one member urged caution about future disposal options. The construction manager said it is common practice to offer an alternate price for synthetic turf in the bid so the committee can defer the final decision until construction pricing is clearer. Designers and the construction manager noted the short window for pricing ahead of the MSBA schematic submission but offered to provide order-of-magnitude costs and replacement-cycle estimates for synthetic versus natural turf for committee review. On other athletic-site items, designers showed a revised layout that removes outdoor basketball and adds tennis capacity, fits a soccer-only field at Horace Mann, and reconfigures lower-parking as parallel stalls to accommodate the athletics core. Designers flagged lighting, scoreboards and disabled-access parking as items requiring further committee direction. The committee did not adopt a final procurement decision at the meeting but provided direction on alternates and requested cost comparisons.