The investigation into a proposed turf field at the new Guilford High School (GHS) is continuing to move forward after the Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted to allow the Guilford High School Building Committee (GHSBC) to work with a contractor to consider the design of the field.

At the regularly scheduled BOS meeting on April 18 the board approved a request from Board of Education Director of Operations/Facilities Cliff Gurnham to waive the bidding process and contract with Milone & MacBroom, a Connecticut-based consulting firm, for design and construction administration of the field.

Gurnham said the firm has already done all of the landscaping and field work for the new high school, making it the best candidate for the job.

“Essentially you are three-quarters of the way through design of the turf field, so to go back and bid this out would not be in the best interest of the town or the building committee,” he said.

The assessment and design work for the field would cost approximately $18,500, a number First Selectman Joe Mazza said keeps the total budget for the high school within the $92 million approved for the project.

“That number includes the design, construction administration, and direct expenses,” said Gurnham.

While exploratory phases of the turf field continue to move forward, the project has been met by heavy resistance from members in the community who are concerned about the health hazards associated with artificial turf fields.

Dr. Jerry Silbert spoke at the BOS meeting, saying there is not enough information concerning health risks to move forward with this project.

“In my opinion the research and studies that have been done on crumb rubber are totally inadequate,” he said. “I think the issue of safety is still to be considered.”

Silbert said he was also concerned that a natural field was not being strongly considered.

“I know the option of natural turf is not even considered in terms of possibilities,” he said. “New technology is available for natural turf that allows for a lot more play. The bottom line is maybe we should just step back a moment and look at the new possibilities in technology in natural turf because they are much less expensive.”

Gurnham said no final decision has been made on the turf field and the GHSBC is still investigating different options, including a variety of different artificial turf fillers.

GHSBC has “all of the information for natural turf fields, but they don’t have all the information for other types of fields, that is why they are doing this research,” Gurnham said. “The natural turf field was a part of the original package, so this is above and beyond that.”

The BOS approved the waiving of the bidding and approved the contract. Gurnham said the firm will present its findings to the GHSBC.

“Part of this packet is a presentation to the building committee as far as what they find for fillers so that would be the appropriate time for the public to come if they wanted to speak,” he said.

Meeting times and agendas for the GHSBC can be found on the town website ww.ci.guilford.ct.us.