The road to another Section 1 title got a little bumpier for Mahopac this week when school officials closed the artificial turf field until wear-and-tear issues can be corrected. It’s unclear when the situation will be resolved.
“We found a couple of spots that concerned us,” athletic director John Augusta said. Right now we’re trying to find a company to come out and do the repairs. … Officials were starting to point things out more and more frequently. It was almost becoming a safety issue, so we brought in our insurance company.”
Tomorrow’s 1 p.m. game against Horace Greeley will be played at the middle school on grass.
Augusta is concerned about having all of the school’s lacrosse teams on that field for games and practices. The increased traffic could result in a bumpy and worn playing surface, so he’s looking into the possibility of using town parks and other fields within the district. If the situation is not resolved before the Section 1 tournament, Mahopac would consider reaching out to a neighboring district with artificial turf, according to Augusta.
“It’s such a fluid situation,” he said. “Right now, we’re week to week. We don’t know what the company that’s brought in for the repairs is going to say. We don’t know what the cost is going to be.”
When they head to the polls May 15, district voters will see a proposition to use $600,000 already in the capital improvement fund to purchase and install new turf. The current surface is 11 years old.
“We need permission to use the funds for turf,” Augusta said. “We’re in the process of educating the public that it’s not going to raise their taxes. The money is there for this. And it’s not just the school that uses the field. We have several teams in the community that use it, too.”
8 Comments
“A couple of spots”????? Mr. Augusta isn’t telling us the whole story. The Superintendant sent out a letter stating that “there are 42 areas of concern”. A far cry from a couple of spots!!! However, Mr. Augusta is in his first year and simply inherited this mess. The former AD, Mr. Miele, and the School Board, ignored countless warnings from many people regarding the deteriorating turf for the last 3 or 4 years.
It is a shame that these teams have to suffer because SOMEONE failed to do thier JOB. It is clear that the turf is done for this season. There is 1 million dollars sitting in an account that is specifically earmarked for turf replacement. All that is needed is for the residents of Mahopac to support a referendum at the May budget vote for the release of these monies. It will cost them NOTHING. Do right by these fine young men and women who not only represent Mahopac High School but the community as well.
Just wait until you come play on the rock pile at Hen Hud next Thursday. You will be wishing for the Pac turf with 42 areas of concern. I hope your voters do the right thing. Our voters let us down big time.
Is this the field that all the football playoffs are played on? Is the turf prematured aged because of this?
BigBadVooDaddy, if the money is in an account earmarked for the replacement, this fact should be brought out to all voters.
this shouldnt be overlooked because its the guys first year, i know in my district the field is inspected at the end of the fall season so they can work on before snowfall if possible. this way preseason spring workouts can find anything missed or unsuccessful repairs. They shouldn’t have decided mid-season that the fields aren’t safe.
The fact that it got to a point where its not safe (thats on the old AD) the fact that it took this long to do something .. the new AD
Coached up there for a youth lax game two years ago and the field was a worn carpet. funds are there – fix it!
Funds are “there” because they taxed you to put the funds there. Next, they will tax you to replace the funds. And you won’t even notice until you get your next tax bill.
hopefully this will last until fall next year so the football playoffs can be moved to Whit Plains
Mahopac .. the taxes are insane , you can’t sell your house because no one wants to pay these insane taxes , ASAP I am out of Mahopac , been here for 30 years . The Town, The School , and MSA runs everything . Sports / MSA runs the school ,