64°
For the past three years, Friends of Lasell Field Inc. have worked diligently to explore all options for a turf field and we are now at the final stages of making the turf field a reality so that our student athletes can participate in their sport on a safe, quality playing surface.
Everything depends on registered voters over the age of 18 years old (parents, grandparents, students-registered to vote, and alumni) to go to the High School on May 15 and take 10 minutes and vote. It's that simple... vote Yes on Question 6.
*You need to make a well-informed decision on the Turf Field, you need the facts.
Fact: There will be NO increases in your taxes to fund the turf field. At the Town Meeting it was stated, “.. if all three articles on the ballot are passed your taxes will still decrease by $73”. You have an unique opportunity to fix the town hall – begin mending the town roads – installing a turf field while reducing your taxes.
Fact: The turf field will be paid off in one-year.
Fact: A turf field at Lasell Field will benefit ALL sport teams – town leagues, school teams, boys teams, girls teams, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, football. Since the inception of the turf field initiative the focus has always been about supporting community sports never about just supporting football.
Fact: If we don’t turf Lasell Field the remaining playing fields in town will quickly deteriorate due to over-usage.
Fact: If funding for the Turf Field is not approved during the vote next Tuesday, the money cannot go back to the schools or other public projects, it will go back to taxpayers as a one-time reduction in taxes.
Fact: All Northbridge student athletes will have access to a safe, quality playing surface which will enhance their sporting experience.*
And lastly, we will restore community pride to our historic athletic field.
Please spread the word:
- Make phone calls to registered voters.
- Send out an email blast or post on your Facebook page.
- Contact high school alumni returning from college.
- Talk up the vote among grandparents who live in town.
Let's work together and build a community we all are proud to call home. Vote Yes #6 on May 15th.
*Sincerely,*
Fred Beauregard on behalf of The Friends of Lasell Field, Inc.
Comments (15)
Sadly the prior poster comments will be taken as a serious post (my assumption was sarcasm).
Should I bother to respond to prior questions? They have been answered at meetings, e-mails, town meeting but as I advised earlier, please, don't bother yourselves with facts. The Telegram doesn't.
The only facts proponents provide are:
It will cost (estimate) 900K to install
It will cost half that (in 2012 $) to replace it in 8-12 years
So, please provide more.
Proponents talk about "educational nirvana" if there's a turf field. That is just plain...."poppycock"
It's a behemoth in the making. One I and I hope all my neighbors DO NOT burden the future generation with. That, is a fact.
http://friendsoflasellfield.webs.com/faqs.htm
"Our government should not be in the business of purchasing athelic fields with tax payer monies"
Thank you Mr. Tess for having the guts to put bluntly what so many of us in Town think. Many of us certainly question the wisdom of spending public money for what is obviously a private enterprise. For some time we have asked why the Town should spend money on athletic facilities. Those who use the facility should pay! In fact, why should the Town fund schools? After all, only a very limited number of residents actually use the schools. Why shouldn't the parents of the actual students, or even the students themselves, pay the teachers' salaries and building maintenance costs? This would be a much fairer system and would really decrease my taxes. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I needed a police officer, a firefighter, or an EMT. And yet our government is in the business of funding these services. Why? It just doesn't make sense. If you want a turf field you should pay for it. If you want to go to school you should pay for it. If want the police or fire department to come when you call they should swipe your credit card right there and if you don't have the money that's too bad because I ain't paying your bills.
I'll be voting no on ALL THREE ballot questions and with the money I save I will be going out to dinner a few more times next year than I normally would but at least I won't be paying for things I don't use.
You are the definition of a terrible member of our community! Enjoy your dinner, using the money that could have instead benefited those members of our community that you one day may be needing benefits from yourself!
Why not use the practice fields at the top of the hill for all the Pop Warner Games along with the Soccer programs etc?
Oh! You cant get there unless you drive your car to the top?
You can if you have a Hcp plaque! Limited accessibility by auto!
It is a climb for the grand-parents that do not have a Hcp plaque.
Can the parking at the practice fields be increased?
Oh! The elegant stone bridge at the bottom and the road width is too narrow for two way trafic? Great planning! Who called that requirement?
Oh! Is that school property? Maybe a member of the NHS building commitee could answer that?
"Omit planning now pay later." The narrow bridge may be symbolic of the then, or even now, Northbridge planning.
Rules for Northbridge:
1) Don't vote for anything unless it helps you personally
2) Don't vote for anything that costs money
3) Don't try to get any information that will sway you from following items #1 and #2 to the letter
OH PLEASE!
Do tell us how a turf field will make ALL the children in Northbridge Rhodes Scholars.
Persuade me from 1 & 2
Tell me how little Johnny was a C student and smoking weed after school until one day, a great green carpet was laid out and little Johnny snuffed out that joint, cracked opened the books and became...
Rules for Turf Proponents:
Pretend the grass is greener if it's plastic
Ask the town to pay for the field we were too lazy to raise funds ourselves for.
Love your positive outlook on life. Let's focus on those students who don't try. Let's focus on those C students who smoke weed.
Hmm... would have been nice to focus on those A students who play sports and want to make something of themselves some day!
And those who put this initiative together hardly deserve to be called lazy. Three years of fundraising, seeking for corporate donations, and this town vote effort deserves the title of determination and hard work. Alas, another great initiative put down by this town!
You are the example of a prime Northbridge citizen and I hope someday we can overcome your kind and progress as a town.
Correct, lazy was an unfortunate choice of words and characterization. Allow me to take this opportunity to apologize for that.
Now, the A students are the A students. It's in their blood. A desire to excel by personal commitment and a strong foundation at home. They will make something of themselves. A grass or turf field will not propel them in that direction.
The argument that the turf field will make our children better students was false. Hence, the C weed smoking reference.
If a "prime Northbridge citizen" means that I do not feel it should be burdened upon my neighbors to fund a project that not every person funding would benefit/utilize, as well leaving the same burden on the future generation of this community then, I wear the title with pride.
I commend you for the desire to make Lasell a better facility. The initiative is young and with time, you will find your private/corporate funding. Whether it be for turf or better way to maintain the existing grass surface. Either way, I believe it will come to fruition.
You Guys Have Made My Mind Up, on this Turf Issue.
Plus while we are asking question's how did we get into this 'Big Mess' with our Roads, and Town Facilities? Maybe the Taxpayers should know how we arrived here so it may not happen again?
If that conjectural 'rumor' is maybe true about the Town Hall staff maybe moving down to Providence Rd, maybe the Town Manager may make it known in the Media?
Plus if that conjectural 'rumor' is maybe true about the Town Hall being conjecturally transferred to the National Park System, does it make sense for the Taxpayers to put money into it for Windows, and other Maintenance?
But who knows it may just be a 'rumor'.
Juggy,
I think our town still has a Whitin "hangover" whereas, everything was provided by that family and its industry for so long.
As a community we take some solace in having some really low prop rates.
On the other hand, we haven't quite come to grips with that comes with a cost.
I am going to trust out new DPW director with the road plan and allow my tax $ to go to something I will definately utilize...the roads.
I'm torn on town hall. 140 years for windows isn't bad (lol).
The turf field is just wrong and not fair to my neighbors who will never utilize it.
FACT - 3 year (debatable) is not a diligent effort to raise close to a million dollars for a turf field that NOT EVERY taxpayer will utilize but will have to pay for.
FACT - The turf field WILL NOT benefit all town teams. The spirit is there but the reality will be HARSH!
FACT - The INSTALLATION MAY a big MAY be paid off in one year. The maintenance and replacement costs will be forever...when OUR children are taxpayers.
FACT - the other fields will be fine
FACT - the money SHOULD go back to taxpayers.
FACT - it MAY (arguably) benefit the playing experience of a few student athletes. it will NOT make them better students.
NO on 6
To Fred Beauregard on behalf of The Friends of Lasell Field, Inc.
Our government should not be in the business of purchasing athelic fields with tax payer monies plain and simple. I played on Lasell field many times as a younger man, and I agree that an artificial surface would be a wonderful asset for Northbridge. However this goes beyond the scope of our uses of tax monies for so many reasons. To say that our taxes will decrease regardless is an absurd argument, I pay around $3500.00 each year to this town, and I still get requests from our elementary school asking for donations for supplies such as pencils, glue sticks, and crayons. If you want an artificial field for Lasell, then have a bake sale, ask for private donations, corporate donations, user fees, interest bearing bonds would help you reach your goal. Stand on the corner with a bucket asking passer-bys for donations. Students and Alumni could raise this money on their own if everyone wasn't so lazy to the extent that they have convinced the BOS to put this on a ballet question asking every home and business owner in Northbridge to foot the bill. And shame on the BOS and financial comittee for even asking the residents to approve this. While were at it, why don't we just build a dome over the field, I hear that everybody has so much extra money now a days, we should just go all the way. The number of "home for sale" on my street (and in this town) should send a clear signal to residents that a no vote on question 6 is the only sane vote on should take.
Thanks for reading
To an uninformed and rude person,
Before making suggestions about what you think an initiative that has spent THREE years working tirelessly to benefit the students of our town get your facts straight. Fred Beauregard, who has put many hours into not only Friends of Lasell but School Committee and countless community organizations, and the organization he headed HAS run fundraisers. They HAVE asked for private donations, they HAVE asked for corporate donations. They've put all they could into trying any options to acquire a field that would improve and advance our school system. You see, citizens such as yourself have stood in their way, doing whatever they could to stop this positive initiative. So before you go calling all of us "lazy" how about you get off your butt and see what you can do to help. Let's not throw around such insults before you meet these people and learn what they've done to work on this. And I absolutely love your attempt at humor (your dome suggestion), but while we're throwing around insults, I believe that pathetic could apply here.
Thank YOU for reading.