When I read this article about the construction of a soccer field in a park in Paterson, i realized how many potential problems there were with the proposed dome in Johnson Park. I suggest you read the Record article.
http://www.northjersey.com/towns/paterson/paterson-council-demands-more-details-on-pennington-park-soccer-field-deal-1.1578746#storycommentsThe proposed Johnson Park sports dome will replace one of the two soccer fields. The sports dome is touted as a multi sports venue which reportedly would have one larger soccer field that could be broken down into smaller fields for a variety of indoor sports, including baseball and football. This raises the issues of who would have access to the dome, who would set the priorities, would Hackensack residents be guaranteed access and who would determine when the field would serve as a soccer field and when it would be restructured to serve other sports.
Another issue is the maintenance costs. Who will pay for the restructuring from sport to sport. What is the cost associated with the maintenance of the dome and the turf. What is the expected life of the dome and how often will the turf require replacement. And last but not least, how will the City replace the lost soccer field in Johnson Park.
The public presentation describing the project was made only 90 minutes before the vote approving the funding and I strongly suggest that the Council begin to consider these issues and follow up with another meeting which will address some of these issues.
