(Feb. 27, 2015) -- LBREPORT.com provides below a link to a recent KCET (Channel 28) report on "crumb rubber," a recycled rubber from car and truck scrap tires, a type of synthetic material (among various types) for non-grass turf being considered for soccer fields planned for three Long Beach parks -- El Dorado Park (ELB), Admiral Kidd Park (WLB) and Seaside Park (Central LB/North of downtown).
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As the video shows, Councilwoman Mungo initially (and inaccurately) told the meeting's roughly 200+ attendees that if they didn't want their children playing on crumb rubber in El Dorado Park, they could use soccer fields elsewhere in town that would use other materials. Parks & Rec Director George Chapjian swiftly corrected her publicly, making clear that his department won't use different materials in one park and not another; whatever material is chosen that will be used citywide and his Department will treat health concerns seriously. Mr. Chapjian opened the meeting by emphasizing that decisions on aspects of the soccer fields weren't set in stone and he was hoping to hear public views on plans. City staff presented a very clear and concise presentation spelling out current plans and options. We regret that Councilwoman Mungo didn't seriously invite the public to voice their views. She discouraged it, trying to turn a public meeting into a Q & A session in which she dispensed what she considered truths (some arguable in our view.) In our opinion, all of this disserved taxpayers who wanted the opportunity to address their elected representative in a public forum, taxpayers who had a right to hear what speakers pro and con said and Parks and Rec staff who explicitly said they wanted to hear what the public said. All of this ultimately the disserved the Councilember herself. As the extended video shows, later in the meeting a City hired consultant acknowledged the controversy over "crumb rubber" but opined that roughly 60 studies he'd seen to date hadn't shown a cancer link. LBREPORT.com believes the City's first duty is to protect public health and safety. This trumps previously budgeted "savings." In our opinion, decisions previously made without the benefit of information now coming to light deserve thoughtful consideration now. We believe very few things are more costly than cancer. LBREPORT.com urges LB's Parks & Rec Commission to take up soccer turf issues, pro and con, since they apply to three parks citywide -- El Dorado Park, Admiral Kidd Park and Seaside Park. We believe that while colliding views may be uncomfortable to some, they should be welcomed and openly aired because they may reveal some areas for common ground. We hope the Commission will address these issues with greater seriousness and greater openness than they received at the 5th district Councilmember's Feb. 23 meeting. Opinions expressed by LBREPORT.com, our contributors and/or our readers are not necessary those of our advertisers. We welcome our readers' comments/opinions 24/7 via Disqus, Facebook and moderate length letters and longer-form op-ed pieces submitted to us at mail@LBReport.com.
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