Above: The public is invited to play on newly renovated athletic facilities at Algonquin, lit for evening use on weekdays. (photo issued by NSBORO administration)
This week, the schools announced that Algonquin Regional High School’s outdoor track and stadium field are available for community use — with some limits.
I’m sharing those details, plus some others I learned, including a change to the turf infill from what was previously promoted.
In late October, the school posted pics of a newly installed track. A week later, a post highlighted the newly painted lines.
This Wednesday, Principal Sean Bevan announced to the Algonquin community that the stadium track and field are available “on a limited basis”.
According to the announcement issued by the school on Wednesday, the stadium field isn’t yet ready to use for team practices/games. “However, informal use by students, staff, and community is permitted” during the following hours:
- Saturday and Sunday: from sunrise to sunset
- Monday-Thursday: from 2:45-7:00 pm (stadium lights will remain on until 7:00 pm)
- Friday: from 2:45 pm until sunset
The announcement included a request to “respect the new grass”:
Please be mindful of the freshly planted grass around the complex and adhere to all posted signs. By working together, we will keep this space beautiful.
For now, the facilities will only accessible through the entrance near the amenities/refreshments building.
Both the message from Bevan, a district-wide announcement by Superintendent Gregory Martineau this morning, asked for patience as work continues on the unfinished infrastructure (grandstand, ramps and walkways) and the amphitheater.
The $8M GonkPlex renovation project was initially slated to be ready early in the fall sports season. Frequent heavy rains over the summer and pipeline problems caused repeated delays to the facilities utilized by fall sports. (Although the public and gym classes were able to make use of Pickleball and Tennis Courts in September.)
On October 10th, ARHS teams were finally able to begin playing at home on the multipurpose turf field. But fans won’t be able to cheer on Titans from the grandstands until this spring.
One last related item. . .
Looking at the school’s recent photos of construction progress, I was surprised to find the following post describing the infill being used in the turf fields:
View this post on Instagram
Leading up to the GonkPlex vote, the school’s contractor told the boards of health, public, and other officials that it would be using an acrylic coated sand called Envirofill. Among the touted benefits was indication that unlike some infills, the coated material was non-toxic and wouldn’t create dust.
I followed up with school officials on the change. According to Martineau:
after researching and learning more about the Envirofill product, the District learned that it was a silica-based product. Silica dust is a known human carcinogen, and as a result, the District determined that Envirofill did not achieve the goal of having a safe, organic infill. As a result, the District shifted to BrockFILL, which is an engineered wood particle infill specifically designed to improve traction and reduce artificial turf heat. It’s made from a species of southern pine grown, harvested, and replanted in continuous cycles. BrockFILL met all the criteria: Organic, safe, water-absorbent, and environmentally friendly.
I pointed out that I believed the public was told Envirofill was essentially dust free. He responded that they learned otherwise.
That explains why the infill in action shots of recent ARHS Field Hockey games looks different from the promotional materials for Envirofill.
Updated (11/13/23 8:52 am): The most recent timeline for the project prior to last week’s announcement projected that the outdoor basketball court would be installed last week. That wasn’t mentioned, so I checked with the administration on the status. It isn’t installed yet. Martineau was looking into the reason behind the delay.
