I have to agree with a lot that sir Especially #3
But you brought up some extremely good points that I never thought of, opens it up to more than just football My concern is the cost. Research I've done since yesterday shows this 1.1mill to be on the high side Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: Educating for Justice <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:31:36 To: [email protected]<[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: [AsburyPark] The Benefits of Artificial Turf at APHS I read the comments on the list with regard to the planned upgrade to the field at APHS and I wanted to comment. I have significant insight on this matter as I served on the City¹s Recreation Commission during my tenure on City Council where this was a project of significant interest; I had regular meetings with the HS Athletic Director about the shared desire to make this happen; I had discussions with the engineers that built Neptune¹s artificial turf field to gather background information... 1. This is an EXCELLENT move for the school system and the community in general. 2. As Dan noted, there are significant long-term cost savings when these surfaces are installed. 3. We must deal with the reality that AP is a football town. This is what kids care about it and for many it is what keeps them on the straight and narrow. This is good. It is a building block. Once they care about something, you have leverage with them. You can get them to realize that football can be gateway to a college education (for most it will be small colleges, not bigtime football schools). You can get them to realize that in order for them to play football, they have to pass their classes. You can get them to realize that in order for them to play football, they have to attend school regularly. You can get them to realize that in order for them to play football, they have to keep out of trouble in school. (I think you see my point here). With the success of a football team, you can parlay it other sports with the same approach (this has already begun to happen with AP basketball). 4. With the artificial turf in place APHS can rent the facility out. To give you a sense of what the market is, a half-field rental for one hour goes for about $100. I will leave it to Oak to do the math. 5. If you can keep two kids from going down the wrong path and staying out of jail for their lives, the field will have paid for itself in terms of tax dollars (it costs about $40k a year to incarcerate a prisoner in NJ). 6. A field like this will be a matter of PRIDE for the kids, something they desperately need. When these kids travel outside of AP, they see the other communities with the great facilities and then they come home to the field in AP. It sucks. I have played on it, I have coached on it, I have run recreation programs on it. You get a couple of good weeks in the summer if the rain cooperates with the grass growing, but after that, it is cement and bumpy. 7. Once they do this project, it is imperative that a similar field be built behind the middle school and that one should have lights. More fields = more recreation = less idle hands and minds. This is an INVESTMENT in the future economic and social stability of Asbury Park. I could go on, but I hope this is enough to allay concerns and will encourage many of you to support this project. Peace, JWK -- Jim Keady, Director Educating for Justice, Inc. [email protected] 732.988.7322 www.educatingforjustice.org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
