BURRILLVILLE – Saying that the lawsuit regarding installation of a synthetic turf field at Burrillville High School is based on speculative and unsubstantiated fears, the town has filed a counterclaim against resident Roberta Lacey requesting compensation for damages.
The counterclaim, filed on Friday, Nov. 15, states that Lacey and the Burrillville Land Trust civilly conspired to interfere with the contractual relationship between the town of Burrillville and FieldTurf USA, Inc.
The legal move comes in reaction to a lawsuit filed by Lacey in Rhode Island Superior Court in September charging that the field contains chemicals that have the potential to contaminate the town water supply and that the project should have required Zoning Board approval.
The turf, the final piece to a larger effort to upgrade school athletic facilities that included lighting, an ADA-accessible viewing plaza, a six-foot-wide walking path and a 1,000-seat grandstand, was set for installation prior to the suit, which has focused on concerns about PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals, and the field’s location over an aquifer.
Testing ordered by the town has shown only trace chemicals in the proposed field materials, and concluded the installation poses no threat to human health. But Lacey and other opponents have questioned the adequacy of testing methods, and laid out concerns and objections ultimately leading to the litigation, filed by Attorneys Michelle Hawes and Marisa Desautel of Desautel Browning Law.
A temporary restraining order halted installation scheduled for October, and was later extended pending hearing of the case.
The Burrillville Land Trust is among local groups that have expressed opposition to the project, and the organization has helped with efforts to raise funds for the ongoing litigation.
Represented by Attorney Anthony DeSisto and Town Solicitor William Dimitri, town officials note in the counterclaim that Lacey did not file her lawsuit until after construction of the field had begun, and that the “belated,” litigation “harms Burrillville taxpayers by delaying the completion of the project.”
The suit specifically cites two articles published on NRI NOW in advance of the contract with FieldTurf to design, manufacture, and build the field, one on July 29, 2022 regarding formation of a committee to spearhead the project and a second on January 3, 2023 about the council’s decision to commit up to $5 million on the project.
“Lacey has intentionally interfered with the contract between the Town and FieldTurf, USA, Inc.,” the claim states. “The town should be compensated for the damages that it has sustained as a result of this tortious interference.”
The town states the suit has lead to increased costs for storage of the materials to be used for the field and for other construction costs for the project.
“Lacey’s lawsuit is based on speculative and unsubstantiated fears, not evidence,” it states.
Hearings in the case are ongoing with Associate Justice Melissa Darigan currently set to hear the arguments regarding a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, Dec. 10 and Wednesday, Dec. 11.
1,500 names on a petition represent less than 10% of the town population. Turf fields are everywhere (i.e. North Smithfield High, Smithfield High, Uxbridge High, colleges, pro teams, etc.). Uxbridge High turf field is installed at a similar distance to their nearby river compared to Burrillville High desired location and their nearby river. Uxbridge High has had no issues. I’m sure the turf field construction and construction codes will account for all of these hazardous possibilities. If 90% of the town failed to sign the petition, it is reasonable to assume that the majority are not in opposition of the turf field construction as it poses more benefits than threats. The opposition is delaying the inevitable. Stand down and let Burrillville High grow like every other high school in the country rather than holding them back.
Why not just finish this project with real grass and be done? There are even healthier alternatives- Geofill natural turf and Pure Cork to consider.
Everyone wins! No forever chemicals to poison the water, the high school and teams get a new, state of the art field, and the spectators get better, more ADA compliant bleachers.
Has a fund been set up to help the defendant in this case. I live in N Smithfield but would gladly make a donation to help support Ms Lacey and the land trust.
Jason, not specific to Roberta and the SLAPP suit but there is a GoFundMe setup to raise money for legal fees associated with fighting the artificial turf field.
Yep…what they said^
The US ARMY no longer can use the rubber turf as it has too high of a count of Lead, PFAS, and VOCs, but for civilian and especially use for children or young adults it’s perfectly healthy.
Where did you read that? They are still, and have within the last several yrs, installed more of it, saving labor and maintenance of real grass. So I am confused where that came from….?
It is mind-boggling that the town council obviously does not care about the residents of this town nor do they care about the environment. They know about the PFAS (forever chemicals) that are already in the groundwater throughout the town. They also know about the heavy metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), also hazardous, and the PAHs that are in the plastic turf and the infill. Then, of course, the microplastics, which will eventually (as the turf gets older… and not much older, if it is installed) enter the Clear River which is just feet from the project. I believe that the DEM did not know about the hazardous chemicals that are part of the artificial turf and the infill when they approved the stormwater permit and the freshwater wetlands permit. If they had known, these permits would NOT have been approved and the project would have been “scratched”–at least the artificial turf portion. What is truly sad is that as soon as the town council learned of these hazards, it just did not care. Barrington, RI residents just voted in the election “no” artificial turf in its town. I believe that this counter suit is just plain ridiculous. The king of the town of Burrillville should have listened to his residents and gone with natural grass. The town should be suing Field Turf for not doing its “due diligence” about the PFAS and other toxic chemicals in the plastic turf and the infill. And, King: All you had to do is to google “Artificial Turf and hazardous chemicals”. Then you would have learned what Roberta Lacey found out. Roberta is a hero. She is fighting the town in order to protect all the residents and the environment. What is the town council doing???? Counter suing… Give me a flippin’ break, “King”. The town will not stand for this much longer, believe me.
It’s deeply disappointing to see the town of Burrillville using taxpayer dollars to file a counterclaim against its own citizens—residents who are advocating for the health, safety, and future of the entire community. Given the fact that the PFAS Consumer Ban Act was passed in June of 2024 (after the dates highlighted in their suit) shows that this counter-suit is clearly just a retaliatory effort to scare others from speaking out against the Town Council.
With a petition exceeding 1,500 signatures and widespread opposition to the synthetic turf project, the town’s persistence in this costly legal battle reflects a disregard for public opinion. This wasteful spending of ARPA funds could have gone toward fixing deteriorating roads, tackling urgent construction projects in our schools, or exploring sustainable, safe, financially responsible alternatives for the school.
No, any of those alternative things would have been a waste of money /sarcasm.
The moment that this project turned from “installing a turf play surface at Alumni Field” to “building a second completely redundant field next to Alumni Field” they should have pumped the brakes on this project.
I laugh at how the members of the Burrillville Town Council proclaim to be “fiscally conservative”. What they really mean is they’re conservative with their own money, but are
reckless spendthrifts with other people’s (fed/grant) money that could have improved many more things in the town. Millions and millions of dollars on a vanity project. The way Donald Fox pushed this thing so hard, you’d think his name was going to be on the field.
I hope they do name it after him. That way when the field fails prematurely, costs us another million to fix and fills our streams and rivers with microplastics – we know exactly who to blame.