By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press Staff Writer

CITYWIDE — The Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education is expected tonight to move forward with a joint-effort to install the latest in artificial turf at John Adams Middle School, where grass fields are being worn away by constant use.

The board of trustees at Santa Monica College voted in December of 2005 to join with the school district and use money from Measure S, an athletics improvement bond, to replace fields at John Adams with all-weather, synthetic turf while maintaining the dirt portions needed for baseball and softball games.

The school board must now approve the joint effort before the design phase of the replacement plan can proceed. The total cost of the project is currently unknown, but in November of 2004, the district submitted a grant proposal for $1 million to the state for the replacement of the south field at John Adams.

“This is a very important joint-use project for us,” school Superintendent John Deasy said. “I expect the board to approve this.”

The grass fields are among the most used in the city, playing host to not only athletic events held by John Adams, but also the college, Santa Monica United Soccer, American Youth Football, Little League and the city’s after-school program CREST (Child care, Recreation, Enrichment, Sports, Together).

Those who maintain the field said it is almost impossible to keep the grass healthy because it has no time to recuperate from the daily use.

“There’s just so many people using it that the grass never has time to rest,” said Greg Brown, director of facilities planning at SMC.

The college has hired Caldwell Architects, which is holding design meetings with the district, city staff and community members to determine how the open space can best be used. Brown said there are already plans to preserve the softball field and create two soccer fields, with at least one being full regulation size. Everything else is open for discussion.

John Adams would not be the first school to install turf. The technology has become very popular across the country because of its low maintenance cost, durability and aesthetic. It looks and feels almost like real grass, according to FieldTurf, leaders in turf technology and the suppliers of artificial grass for Super Bowl XL.

The turf is made from Polyethylene fibers that are cut to resemble real blades of grass and not a carpet. The fibers are surrounded by a special blend of “synthetic earth,” a mixture of rounded silica sand, rubber granules and NIKE GRIND, which is made out of re-ground athletic shoe material. This provides the turf with a natural cushion and bounce, plus traction for cleated shoes, according to FieldTurf. The artificial grass is also weather resistant and durable.

“It works incredibly well. The only thing that stops us from playing now is lightening,” said Chuck Ice, athletic director for Crossroads School, which installed artificial turf five years ago.

“When we originally drew up the plans we were going to go with a grass field, but somebody asked us to take a look at this turf so we reluctantly did so,” Ice said. “When we came back, everybody who was anti-artificial came back with glowing reviews. We looked at the cost and decided it would pay for itself in about three or four years. I miss the smell of grass, being an old baseball guy, but this holds up against constant wear.”

Ice said the Crossroads field is used more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

At John Adams, the thought of saving money on maintenance for the fields had administrators smiling.

“We are so excited about this,” said principal Irene Ramos. “Our fields take a pounding and just having to do the maintenance on the grass and keep it in fine condition is just an enormous amount of work and expensive.”

DACs WAIT AND SEE

Aside from the turf issue, the board is also expected to ratify a contract between the district and the Service Employees International Union, Local 660, and once again discuss the roles District Advisory Committees (DACs) play in the district’s decision making process.

The contract to be ratified offers a 3-percent raise this year for some district employees. Health and welfare benefits will not change. The contract will be from Jan. 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007.

With the DACs, the board ran into some communication problems last month. In trying to better define the role these community groups play, the board may have confused and subsequently worried many DAC members who felt their duties were being diminished.

The board apologized for any misunderstanding at the last board meeting, and voted to discuss the issue tonight to better explain the change to DAC responsibilities.

Board members insist the DACs still have the same amount of influence as they did prior to the re-wording of their duties.