LET'S TURN THE LIGHTS ON

[LouS]

Unless there are additional issues that may need to be addressed or corrected, I will not have the time to give to this forum due to work related issues and gearing up for May 24th.

Others may be able to respond.

Checking out until May 25th.

Good Luck.

[Ironrod]

"If you want to debate, I am all for it..."

Lou,
...were these your famous last words? You just said them in a posting less than 2 days ago...and now you're running away to hide??? I thought we had something good going here - finally, a lively and informative debate on the Cottone Field Sports Complex...so what happened? Cat bit your tounge? Or maybe you stumbled on a NIMBY that started making too much sense? Don't go Lou! There's still so much for you and your brigade of light bulbs to learn...don't leave them in the dark!

Well, even if you don't respond I'll still try to share my voice of reason with our community at large...and maybe even swing a few votes come May 24th..

nvove are you listening...there's still hope for you too.

[tomterific]

It's unfortunate that one of the main proponents of the lights has stated that he will no longer make any postings on the board until after election day. I think it's important to read information from both sides of the issues, and LouS has been a frequent contributor. I hope that the other posters continue to provide their views and facts to back them up. Like many Wethersfield voters, I want to read all I can before going to the voting booth.

[JackAss]

tom if you haven't figured it out by now, maybe by the end of my rant you can.

I'm sure LouS is burned out from dealing with a bunch of fence sitters and ney sayers. This topic has been on the table for some time , but your still unclear?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the roads, buildings and the rest of our infrastructure has been in disrepair for years and Cottone Field is nothing but a punching bag and excuse.

When people say were spending money on Cottone and not new textbooks is a joke!

First of all the new text books don't mention American History and are politically correct to the extent of not teaching what America is about, let's not waste our money!

Oh! it's for the children. How much did the BOE budget go up? Well it only cost's us $10,000 per student. Not bad! Why don't we spend $11,000 or $15,000, what's the difference, its only money. The State will kick in money and the Fed's will pay some.

When people figure out that is the same pocket, and the pocket is empty, maybe they will wake up!

[LouS]

Ironrod,

We haven't had something good going here since I was coaching Babe Ruth baseball.

I thought twice about taking the time and posting this and decided that I needed one last response to you.

This last post is your typical diatribe and way you "debate".

Sidestepping issues, not responding to statements (light ordinance, etc., of my other post) and misquoting or leaving quotes out to your convenience, is not a good debate.

Your last post left off the rest of the quote, which may have been, as you say, my famous last words. "If you want to debate, I am all for it, but don't tell tales".

I have been warned about certain historical issues and tales involving your "information" and the information's integrity and I don't feel it is worth my time to respond to your "old", previously stated information, especially since it is not, currently useful, nor ever used.

Feel free to revisit that information and let everyone know that you can "inform" not only me, as you say I am misinformed, but others, as well.

The few votes you may get with your "information", and your self stated "voice of reason" will pale in comparison with the masses that you will rejuvenate, as they are reminded of past actions.


And jackass, thank you.

[tooold]

lous

why do you bother to even dignifiy ironrod's posts. let him rant to his contentment. from what i hear no one ever listens anyway.

and nvone. i think the house is for sale. it even has new drainage. what a coincidence.

let there be lights

[Ironrod]

Lou,

Nice to see you really haven't gone away...as long as we stay engaged there's a chance you'll come around to 'seeing the light' aftreall.

It may just be ironic but just as we started talking about the little or no maintenance taking place at Cottone Field I've noticed a flurry of activity around the field these past couple of days. And yes Lou, they are still taking care of that old green stuff that survived around the great plastic expanse (remember natural grass?) the old fashion way with a lawn mower. Anyway, I hope the clippings don't blow onto the field and spoil the glossy shade of plastic green we've come to love.

Don't worry though, your claim that the plastic field is maintenance free still holds up...no work has been seen on the field itself. And if no matienance indeed takes place between now and the dog days of summer that field will become as hard as the ledge that needed blasting last year over on Nott street. You see if the sand and rubber pebbles don't get groomed (mixed up) on a regular basis they tend to separate. Once that happens (the rubber works it way to the bottom and the sand to the top) the hardness factor goes through the roof. I don't claim to be an expert on matters of artificial field but I think I know alittle more than the average person. Maybe some of the 'expertise' of my fellow ASFFAC committe members wore off on me afterall. If so, I can look back over that experience and be thankful something good came out of it afterall.

Stick around Lou...we've only just begun.

[MikeC]

Ironrod,
With your minuet bit of expertise of artificial surfaces you have again misdirected the average public. The beauty of this surface is there will be little if no change to the hardness because of the foundation of work under the grass surface. Also remember that rubber is rubber and it doesn’t get any harder in the form its in now. Future more, to give you an analogy that will help you understand a little bit better; think of the carpets in your house, when dirt gets on it over time it works its way to the bottom and not the top. The same applies with the crumb rubber, the longer its there the farther it settles and any loose debris will settle below the crumb if it’s like you said, the size of sand. Some day when you pull you carpets up, you will see the sand and dirt that went through to the padding. Just more misinformation on your part.

[2much2do]

Amen MikeC, it looks like IronRod it blowing smoke again. I don't get it, everyone I talked to in our town and other towns that have played on our field say it's one of the best in the state. I wouldn't even call that a 100% improvement , more like a 1000%. Lights will only make it better so I will be voting for them and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

[SyZyGy]

Click

[tomterific]

I understand that the Friday Night Channel 14 talk show will have the proponents and opponents of the Cottone Field lights on the program separately the next 2 Friday nights. I hope the guests will provide factual information on their position without the personal attacks that have been posted here and have been made in public at Council meetings. I especially want to see dollar figures on the total costs of the work, all the recurring costs for the new field and its lights, and a clear set of numbers on the private funding. A lot of this has been glossed over and some of the costs for the artificial surface maintenance have not been forthcoming. It's vital for the proponents to give us the hard numbers now.

[RGarrey]

I want to clarify who is going to appear on my program, "Wethersfield Live", for the next two weeks. Next Friday the 13th State Rep. Tony Guererra will be on to discuss veterans isuues at the state level. On Friday the 20th members of the Wethersfield Taxpayers Assoc. will be on to discuss their views on the upcoming referendum. The proponents of the lights did not request time on my program. The proponents and opponents of question #2 have both produced programs that will air on channel 14 this month. I will try to get the scheduled times that they both will air and post them on this forum.

I will also take this time to once again state my opinion on the referendum. I will be voting no to question #2 for many reasons which have been stated on this forum. I also want to add that I am not against lighting on athletic fields in town. The referendum question is not about sports lighting, it is about planning and zoning rules that affect every piece of land and building that the town owns and thus affects every neighbor and neighborhood that those properties are in. Remember, voting no to question #2 does not mean you are against lights. A proposal for lights can be brought before planning and zoning and if it fails an appeal can be brought to ZBA. This is the system that has served this town well for many years and has allowed lights to be installed on a softball field, tennis court and basketball court in this town already.

[Hardballs]

Saw a great sign of a supporter of the lights, on Griswold Rd. across from the turf farm. Check it out a night, the questions are in lights.

Like the sign says:

NO to #1

YES to #2

[Ironrod]

MikeC said:

Ironrod,
With your minuet bit of expertise of artificial surfaces you have again misdirected the average public. The beauty of this surface is there will be little if no change to the hardness because of the foundation of work under the grass surface. Also remember that rubber is rubber and it doesn’t get any harder in the form its in now...

MikeC,

your by line says "I know what I know" but you should change it to "I know less than I think". For your information the 'foundation' of the artificial turf surface, commonly referred to as the substrate is comprised of a combination of rubber pellets AND sand. Over time, the rubber works its way to the bottom and the sand works its way to the top. When this happens compounded by the ongoing compaction by overusing the field we will begin to notice a distinct hardness characteristic developing. I'm not making this up...do the research and you will learn this condition is common to artificial turf fields like what we have at Cottone that are not maintained as they should. The longer we put off required maintenance the harder the field will become and the more difficult it will be to restore it to a prestine playing condition.

I wonder if this will become another infamous example of a Wethersfield penny wise and dollar foolish folly. We spent upwards of $1.5MM (including interest to accrue over 7 yrs) on this field but we will try to save money by neglecting maintenence. Outside of Wethersfield this makes no sense.

And one more thing...didn't Bonnie publically state last fall that we would not use the new field any more in the first year than we've used it in the past so that we can build a base of experience that will help us know how best to maintain the field. This must be another one of those twisted truths that I just don't get (like the grand fathering issue in regard to lights). In the absence of truth let's at least be consistent. This year the field is being used 5 times/10 times/20 times as much as it has been used in the past. We must have learned how to maintain the field real fast or else I suppose we discarded the notion that we need to know how to maintain the field in order to protect our investment.

What difference does it make anyway...the field will need replacing sooner or later and I'm sure being the priority that it is we will find the money to do it...maintenance may simply be a waste of resources until the next turf replacement is needed.

[RGarrey]

Here are the details on the two programs that will air on WCTV channel 14 this month discussing the upcoming referendum.

The first program which has begun to air is supporting a yes vote on question #2. No name was given for the program so I will call it "Let There be Lights". If this is wrong then please correct me. These are the broadcast times .
Mon. 11am & 5pm
Tues. 9pm
Wed. 10 am & 5:30pm
Thurs. 12noon & 10pm
Fri. 3pm
Sat. 11am & 7:30pm
Sun 10:30am

The second program will begin to air on Wed. the 18th. It supports a no vote on question #2. It is titled, "Zoning-Rules to Live and Play by".
These are the broadcast times beginning May 18th.

Wed 6:30pm & 9:30pm
Thurs. 9am & 6:30pm
Fri. 8am & 7:30pm
Sat. 8am & 12noon
Sun. 12:30pm, 6pm & 7:30pm
Mon. 9am, 6:30pm & 9pm