The proposed turf field — Huntress Associates Inc.

Officials with Oak Bluffs and Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School say that the attorneys with the school have presented a possible settlement over the turf field lawsuit.

Ewell Hopkins, chair of the Oak Bluffs planning board, and Robert Lionette, chair of the MVRHS School Committee, both confirmed that there is a settlement proposal on the table.

Neither would expand on the details of the settlement, instead saying they would wait until something is finalized before releasing details.

The MVRHS School Committee filed a lawsuit against the planning board and the town of Oak Bluffs after the board rejected the school’s proposed synthetic turf field.

Settlement talks began earlier this month following a decision by the committee to uncap the amount of funds available for the lawsuit, just before town meeting season. 

Voters at the three up-Island town meetings — Chilmark, West Tisbury, and Aquinnah — voted to reject the school’s proposed budget in protest of the turf field. Voters have said that they are upset over the lack of oversight in the spending of funds on the lawsuit, while others have argued that the synthetic field poses a threat to the Island’s drinking water.

The MVRHS School Committee is scheduled to meet tonight to discuss the budget, and members could then possibly call the meeting into executive session to discuss the lawsuit.

Earlier this month, the committee passed a motion, 5–4, stating that no money from the fiscal year 2024 budget will be used for the field litigation. And they read a statement that the school’s attorneys would seek a settlement with Oak Bluffs.

Hopkins, chair of the O.B. planning board, says he’s been encouraged by the up-Island votes at town meetings, as well as by the voters of Tisbury, who petitioned the committee to stop spending money on the turf lawsuit.

He says that the school committee sued the town not over the science of a synthetic turf field and whether it poses a danger, but instead over whether the town should have a right to have a voice in the turf field discussion. The committee has argued that a Massachusetts general law referred to as the Dover Amendment gives them an exemption over local zoning, because the field is for educational purposes.

The planning board rejected a special permit for the field over concerns of PFAS getting into the Island’s aquifer.

“They have the legal right to sue us,” Hopkins told the Times. “But on the other hand, they have an obligation to hear us, and I’m concerned they haven’t.”

9 replies on “Settlement proposal on the table for turf lawsuit”

  1. So Mr. Hopkins takes no responsibility in this, that is what I am seeing. He ignored every bit of science and testing that went into this project and that is OK in his opinion. Mr. Hopkins, you can stop this as quickly as the school can by getting off your high horse and do what you were elected to do and obligated to do, rule with an unbiased eye, which you obviously won’t do. In addition, you also support hurting children’s educations in order to get your way. Hypocritical, because you supported the poison surrounding Sunset Lake, and the crumb rubber at Niantic Park playground, and you did no testing? Have you been to Niantic Park lately, it is breaking up into little rubber pellets and is scattered all around the park. No testing of any of those products were conducted, but I guess you didn’t have to when it said “poison” right on the bucket of the material used at Sunset Lake.

  2. Why would the school committee sue over the science? The science proves that the field as proposed poses no threat. It’s odd that the Chair would be encouraged that the voters failed to understand the science.

  3. Is the solution an all natural field that uses GMO grass seed, chemical fertilizers, high tech herbicides and synthetic fuel for the mowing machines? .

    1. Albert– why do you keep insisting that we need gmo seed and all that other stuff that we don’t need in order to grow grass ?

      1. Good grass on the Island uses all that stuff.
        Most all courses of action have a down side.
        Think of all water it takes to grow good grass.
        All the power to pump the water.

        1. albert–i have some news for you–water falls out of the sky on a pretty regular basis.
          Do you ever wonder how much water and power is used to make a half million pounds of synthetic turf ?
          But just one more question for you. What is the purpose of “high tech herbicides” ? Why would we literally poison our kids to get rid of some weeds ? Weeds are pretty tough sometimes, and players could run right over them.

  4. “Hopkins, chair of the O.B. planning board, says he’s been encouraged by the up-Island votes at town meetings”. I guess he was disappointed when Oak Bluffs passed the budget – that’s the vote that he should be concerning himself with. Ewell certainly seems to have an expansive view of his role in this matter, but we already have a body with all-island planning responsibilities, the MVC, and they have already approved this project.

  5. Mr. Hopkins, the school isn’t suing, its appealing your wrongful denial of the special permit, and it’s not appealing over “the science of a synthetic turf field” as you say because it was proven with testimony and testing that the PFAS was deminimus but you ignored that. However, seeing you also ignored the Dover Amendment that is appealable and your decision to do that is what will be overturned by the judge so settle and bring an end to this. The school’s offer must be something we all can live with.

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