Members of the MVRHS school committee were split in their decision to proceed with a controversial lawsuit over a proposed synthetic turf field, but ultimately decided to continue their appeal.
Members voted 5-4 to continue funding the litigation during a tense meeting on Monday, April 3rd. Funding is for the ongoing appeal against the town of Oak Bluffs in Massachusetts Land Court.
Discussions in May 2022 had led to the agreement to allocate $30,000 to the law firm representing the school, Mead, Talerman & Costa.
According to MVRHS Finance Manager Mark Friedman, the $30,000 number came from an estimate from the school district’s attorney, and was based on similar lawsuits that took between 40 and 80 hours of litigation.
Some committee members were upset that the newest invoices from the law firm exceeded the given estimate. Committee member Skip Manter said the $30,000 should have been “more than enough” to cover the expenses.
The board moved to pay the expense of two recent invoices from the law firm, totaling $3,112.50, which formally exceeded the $30,000 the committee had set aside. Friedman estimated the billing hours from Mead, Talerman & Costa would go 11 hours over the initial estimate.
“Based upon my calculations and my discussion with the attorney representing the district, there’s probably another 5 hours of work left to go, to get through what he calls the summary judgment phase of the process,” Friedman said. “Those 5 hours plus the 2 invoices that we have right now would add up to an additional $3,456.23 needed in addition to the $30,000 discussed back in May in order to complete the phase through the summary judgment.”
He said given how the school’s legal spending was looking for the year, he was “highly confident” that even with the additional expenses, they would not exceed the budget.
The remaining estimated 11 hours will be spent on the summary judgment phase of the legal process, which includes a court date when attorneys will argue their cases. The additional hours will cover the time to analyze the decision once it’s been rendered, and then for the law firm to come back to the school committee in executive session to discuss the judge’s decision, Friedman said.
While Manter and committee Chair Robert Lionette were frustrated with the legal fees exceeding initial estimates, other committee members, like Mike Watts, countered the sentiment.
“We didn’t cap legal fees for immigration fees,” said Watts. “I don’t know why we’re doing it now… We voted on an estimate, and it’s coming in more. Would we tell our immigration attorney you’ve got 4 hours and if you come in at 6 forget the claim? We just don’t do that.”
But other members weren’t convinced. “I just think it’s unprofessional to spend all the initial money,” Manter responded. “This is not a popular topic across the Island, when next week we’re asking for 2 million dollars [for the high school project], to go on further with this project. I just think it’s inappropriate.”
Other committee members felt strongly that the remainder of the discussion belonged in executive session.
“We had [the attorney] sitting here for almost 2 hours, so we ourselves inadvertently ate up a couple hours, and the money adds up quickly,” Committee member Kris O’Brien reminded the committee. “I want to be careful about discussing this any further outside of executive session except to pay for these bills.”
O’Brien and several other committee members felt strongly that the particulars of the conversation belonged in the privacy of the executive session.
The controversy and lawsuit comes over the use of PFAS in the synthetic turf proposed for the new field, so-called “forever chemicals” that pose a risk to the health and safety of the island’s drinking water and long term sustainability.
The Oak Bluffs Planning Board denied the high school’s special permit request for a new athletic track and synthetic turf field almost a year ago on May 4, 2022, on the grounds of water resource protection. The planning board had received numerous letters of both support and opposition to the proposed field project, and ultimately denied the permit.
At the beginning of the meeting, Rebekah Eldeiry made a public comment speaking out adamantly against the synthetic grass turf field and the decision of the school board to oppose the Oak Bluffs Planning Board’s decision.
Eldeiry says she was speaking as someone born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, a mother of 2, a long time participant of PTOs, and a self-proclaimed environmental activist.
“From the beginning to the end of its life cycle, synthetic turf contributes to climate change, threatens to contaminate our single source aquifer, and has unknown health consequences for our still developing young adults,” Eldeiry said, citing the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai’s recommended moratorium on artificial turf. “It is not the fault of this school or the people who lead it that our planet and our drinking water is in peril, but it is the reality. To ignore this and put convenience over conservation is a mistake and a substandard example to the next generation of leaders and problem solvers.”
Eldeiry continued by reminding the committee of the school’s decision to oppose the Oak Bluffs planning board after denying the permit for the proposed synthetic turf on the grounds of environmental protection, saying, “this school committee with a 5-4 vote has moved to litigate against the town of Oak Bluffs. Where do the taxpayers stand, especially those from Oak Bluffs? Is there a cap on spending and when will this ruling occur?”
PFAS have caused a great deal of concern since environmental findings were released back in 2021. Most recently, state lawmakers began pushing a bill to tackle PFAS issues, and in May 2022, the Oak Bluffs board of health began considering a synthetic turf moratorium to prevent the spread of PFAS in town.”
The committee closed the public portion of the meeting to further discuss the litigation in executive session.
