The Palisades High School is a turf field.
The Pacific Palisades Recreation and Park Board (PAB), will hold its monthly November meeting on December 9. The November meeting was cancelled because some members of the community went to the City Attorney and said there was not enough notice.
The meeting will be held in the small gym at the Palisades Recreation Center at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 9. The meeting will also be available via zoom (meeting ID: 812 7644 6573, the URL https://hklaw.zoom.us/j/81276446573)
On the agenda is a park update by Senior Facility Director Jasmine Dowlatshahi. Rec and Parks (RAP) General Manager Jimmy Kim will give a ground and soil testing update; a status report of Quimby Funds that were allocated to this Rec Center before the Fire; and a temporary library update.
The last item on the agenda is a proposal for a synthetic turf field proposal that will be presented by Bryan Whalen of the Pali Community Center Committee and Youth Sports Organizations. After the presentation, public comments will be taken on this agenda item. Then, there will be a PAB discussion and vote.
The meeting will conclude with public comment on anything not covered on the agenda.
The source of contention comes from whether artificial turf should be used on a playing field at the Palisades Recreation Center.
People can compare the difference. The community has both turf and grass. Calvary Christian School and Palisades High School have turf. St. Matthew’s and Paul Revere Middle School have grass.
A reminder that members of the Advisory Board are volunteers and have willingly given up their time, many have served years with little or no public thanks. During meetings they hear everything from bathrooms to tree trimming to garbage pickup—these are not single-topic members.
Members have gone on their own time after the Palisades Fire to LA City RAP meetings (held all over the city) in an effort to reopen the park and to see that DWP did not become a permanent fixture at the park.
To join the PAB board, members are usually nominated by the facility director and approved. Most likely they were nominated because of volunteering at the Rec Center as a coach or helping with sporting events. To read about the city requirements for a PAB click here.
The Paul Revere Field is grass.
(Editor’s note: One would hope that after a town burned down and thousands of people lost their homes, that people attending this meeting would maintain civility, despite strong emotions about grass versus turf.)
The issue is not just grass vrs plastic turf; it is well maintained grass vrs plastic turf. If a grass field is not properly maintained, and that does require some attention, one will get patches of dirt like in the photo at Paul Revere. Grass takes a bit of care, but is better for the environment and quality of life.
I can’t attend as I live in San Diego but grass, grass, grass.
Plastic turf is so toxic to the environment!
I hope they vote to install real grass. Fingers crossed!