Mungo Reveals Behind Scenes Movement Towarrd Natural Grass, Not Artificial Turf, And No Lights, At El Dorado Park West Soccer Field

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Mungo Reveals Behind Scenes Movement Toward Natural Grass, Not Artificial Turf, And No Lights, At El Dorado Park West Soccer Field

Parks/Rec Mgm't Also Indicates It's Following Parks/Rec Comm'n Recommendation To Use Some Type Of Organic Infill Material For Soccer Field At Admiral Kidd Park (And Elsewhere)

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(Sept. 2, 2015, 7:25 a.m.) -- During Sept. 1 Council discussion of the FY16 budget for LB's Parks & Rec Dept., Councilwoman Stacy Mungo revealed some behind-the-scenes movement toward using some type of grass, not artificial turf -- and not installing lights -- at the El Dorado Park West soccer field (Studebaker Rd./north of Willow St.)

Stating that this El Dorado Park area uses reclaimed water area and thus there wouldn't be water savings if changed to an artificial turf, Councilwoman Mungo asked "neighbors to continue to be patient, we have a few more meetings to go and then hopefully in September we'll be coming forward with an alternative plan that will not utilize the $1.7 million at the Wardlow [sic, means Willow] /Studebaker location, that will not include a fence in that area, that will not include lights in that area, but most importantly in working with the soccer organizations, which I just started reaching out to them today after gaining a lot of neighborhood input, that will go with a type of grass that's less injuries than the clumping grass than we've used in the past and that also aligns with the California standards that we can water appropriately in our parks."

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A bit later, Councilman Roberto Uranga asked about the possible use of artificial turf at Admiral Kidd Park in his district, noting health concerns context of health concerns raised about some types of artificial turf. Parks & Rec Director Stephen Scott stated:

...The lion's share of the fields out there [elsewhere] use an infill product that is made up of recycled crumb rubber, and there had been some health concerns regarding the use of that infill material...Those are...examples of infill materials that we are not looking at. Our Parks & Recreation Commission has recommended that we pursue an organic infill material and some of those examples are ground-up coconut husks or cork, as infill options. And so we are proceeding down the road of an organic infill material, not a crumb rubber or recycled tire or other plastic rubber infill material.

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Veteran park protection advocate Ann Cantrell also testified, saying drought tolerant plants on street medians make sense to her "but drought tolerant plants and artificial turfs don't make sense in public parks where people come to enjoy natural grass, the trees and the amenities of the park." She added: "[E]ven though we are considering an organic type of fill...the grass is still plastic. Plastic gets hot when sun shines on it...It also has lead in it, so it is not healthy for children to be playing on. If you put it in portions of the park which are "unused" people are going to be walking their dogs there; plastic retains the odor of urine. I think the soccer people want level, well maintained grass fields. Most players will tell you they prefer grass. The reason that artificial turf was suggested is it was supposed to save water, but it has to be cooled, it has to be washed off...Even the organic turf has to be watered to keep it moist and pliable..."

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