Cost-Cutting Suggestion: Meadowlands East

The Jets and Giants share a home field in Jersey. Should Cross and Hillhouse do it in New Haven — and save taxpayers money?

Tireless citizen budget watchdog Ken Joyner popped that question at a City Hall hearing Thursday night.

Joyner suggested that the city have the football teams at New Haven’s two biggest high schools both use one field for the five home games each of their football teams play every year, ​“such as the Giants and Jets do in New Jersey” at the Meadowlands.

Joyner presented the idea as an alternative to the proposal at hand Thursday night: Approval of a plan to spend $11.6 million to redo crumbling Bowen Field, where the Hillhouse High School team plays.

The lawmakers holding the hearing — the Board of Aldermen’s joint Education and Finance Committee — unanimously voted to advance the proposal to the full board for approval anyway.

But the lawmakers didn’t vote to approve the idea. And they didn’t vote to reject it, either.

Instead, while they made clear that the Bowen Field renovations are headed for eventual approval, the lawmakers took up part of Joyner’s pitch. They agreed that the Board of Education officials who pitched the plan Thursday night hadn’t offered enough of a financial justification for approval. They voted that the Board of Ed must provide a breakdown of how all the money will be spent, as well as the price of not doing the project, before the Bowen redo can receive a final approval.

The aldermen have a hunch that it might actually cost the city more not to do the project, because of emergency safety repairs Bowen needs and the millions of pre-approved state dollars the city would lose if it doesn’t OK the deal, said board President Jorge Perez of the Hill.

But given tough financial times — a projected city deficit that could reach as high as $11 million and expected state and federal aid cutbacks — lawmakers have to justify every penny spent or borrowed, Perez and other aldermen argued, echoing citizen Joyner.

On a broader level, several aldermen emphasized that the idea of replacing Bowen Field’s chopped-up field, potholed track, and crumbling bleachers enjoys broad public support. The state has already approved the $11.6 million as part of its school construction program. The state commits about $8 million for the project. Board of Ed and city finance officials Thursday night were seeking approval to file a formal application for the pre-approved state money and to have the city borrow the other $3.6 million. The plan includes replacing the grass field with artificial turf, expanding the track from six to eight lanes, bathrooms with disability access, building new aluminum bleachers and fences and lighting. Click here for a previous story with more details.

New Haven got lucky with this project, Robert Lynn of the Board of Ed’s school construction program told the aldermen Thursday night: The state doesn’t usually pre-approve this kind of grant. And it usually throws in 50 percent, not 69 percent, of athletic field makeovers. This project got the 69 percent because it qualified as a ​“school construction” project, said Lynn, who’s pictured at left the top of the story next to schools Chief Operating Officer Will Clark and school construction engineer Michael DePalma.

East Rock Alderman Justin Elicker asked Clark and Lynn how much it would cost to do a smaller repair job rather than the full project.

They didn’t have an estimate. Clark said that a ​“patch” job on the track would serve as only a ​“band-aid approach.” Some work has to be done to protect public safety, like replacing some bleachers and ruts in the field. Also, the city would lose state funding. So in the end it could end up doing much less work while spending more than the $3.6 million share it would encumber under the state plan, Clark argued.

“I agree. It would cost us more than the local share. But it’s a number we should have,” Perez said, referring to the request for hard numbers.

Elicker pressed for an estimate of maintenance costs long term for the new Bowen. Clark and Lynn didn’t have those either. But they noted that maintaining artificial turf costs practically nothing, while the grass field requires regular seeding and planting.

Like patriots pre-empting attacks on their loyalty, the aldermen kept couching their financial questions in a bed of overall support for the concept of fixing Bowen.

“The neighborhood has been wanting this to be done for many years and will support it,” said committee Chair Alfreda Edwards of Newhallville. ​“We do need to see some figures in front of us. I am in support of the project.”

“My community wants this and has embraced this. The field has not been done for 20 years,” added Beaver Hills Alderwoman Claudette Robinson-Thorpe.

Clark promised to present detailed breakdowns of each part of the $11.6 million plan as well as the alternative scenario in time for a full Board of Aldermen vote.

“This should not be a major project for you to do,” Perez cautioned him. In other words: Don’t hire expensive consultants. You have the numbers already and working drafts about cost breakdowns. Crunch the numbers and update the plans.

“And please don’t give it to us the same day” as a vote.

Citizen Joyner, a regular fixture at city budget hearings and close reader of city budgets, floated his Meadowlands-style idea when the floor was opened for public comment.

“Everybody likes things” like rebuilt fields, said Joyner, who lives in Newhallville. ​“The question arises: Can we afford all of our things?

“Don’t always jump at the fact that the city is willing to put up 69 percent of the money.”

Social studies teacher Darryl Brackeen Jr. (pictured) of Westville, a Hillhouse alum, spoke after Joyner. He supported the project. He suggested creating a revenue stream from events at Bowen to cover future maintenance costs.