After five years of planning — and an acrimonious turf war that played itself out in numerous public meetings — the Martha’s Vineyard Commission opened a public hearing on the regional high school’s new athletic complex on Thursday.
A controversial $7.7 million project to overhaul the regional high school’s athletic fields is set to come before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for its first public hearing.
The question of whether to fund the design phase of the high school track and field renovation project is now up to the six Island towns, following an animated school committee discussion Monday.
The regional high school district committee voted 5-4 at an overflow meeting Monday to press ahead with a plan to rebuild the school athletic fields, using artificial turf for the main field.
The question of natural grass versus artificial turf dominated public comment at a meeting called last week to air ongoing plans to overhaul the athletic fields at the regional high school.
Ongoing debate over whether to install artificial turf athletic fields or grass fields at the regional high school dominated the district committee meeting Monday evening.
The Field Fund has begun work at every elementary school on the Vineyard to improve and maintain nontoxic grass fields. This week the fund was honored with an award at the state house.