SANDPOINT — With the approval of the final design concept for Memorial Field on Wednesday, the search is underway for an engineer as city officials submitted a request for quotes on Thursday.

Mayor Shelby Rognstad broke the council’s 3-3 tie during Wednesday’s meeting to approve the design, which includes using artificial turf for the field’s surface. The type of infill for the artificial turf is yet to be decided, however.

“Whether that is rubber-based, a rubber-based encased in silicone, whether that is coconut-based, cork or olive, or something new, the type of artificial surface specifically is not included in the recommendation,” said City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton.

All of the options will be vetted and considered as the city moves forward with engineering design, Stapleton said.

The turf discussion dates back to 2015 when SPVV Landscape Architects began looking at different options for the field surface, which included natural grass, artificial, or a mixture of both. The city recently contracted GreenPlay, LLC, as consultants for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which included design for Memorial Field concept. Following a number of workshops, meetings and surveys for public input, GreenPlay officials ultimately concluded that artificial turf would be the best option for the field. Factors considered in the conclusion included playability and field use, neighborhood impact, the Festival at Sandpoint, time between usage, and environmental impact, Stapleton said.

Festival officials have been proponents of a natural grass option rather than artificial for a number of reasons, including that the temperature of an artificial surface is hotter in the summer than grass. One thing about some of the infill options for artificial turf, Stapleton said, is that the temperature of coconut infill, for example, is 20-percent cooler than the traditional rubber infill.

There were also concerns about how the large tent that serves as the Festival stage would be anchored. Installing permanent anchors with the artificial turf was considered, but disregarded because they would be in the field of play and could result in athlete injuries.

Parks and Recreation Director Kim Woodruff said he spoke with the company that made the Festival tent on Wednesday to ask if they could create a tent similar to the traditional Festival tent, but with a different anchoring system. The representative assured him there is a way to anchor the current tent with a surface anchor. Stapleton said it has been included in the overall project budget for the city as well.

Vehicle traffic for the Festival was another concern, with the trucks and buses and other vehicles that drive onto the field during the event. Stapleton said any of the surface options, whether it be natural or artificial will require a drainage system that would limit that use. There is potentially more options with artificial turf, she said, as they could lay down planks or another surface that would allow vehicles to drive over the field.

Overall, artificial turf will allow multiple teams to practice at any given time and back-to-back sporting events, with very little field recovery time needed between the Festival and the fall athletic season, said Tom Diehl with GreenPlay. In addition, he said, the cost over time for artificial turf will be about the same as the cost for natural turf, primarily because the natural turf would have to be replaced every three to five years, and the artificial will last about 10 years before replacement is required.

Woodruff said the city came together five years ago and passed, with 73 percent of residents in favor, the 1-percent local option tax for improvements to Memorial Field and other parks.

“I knew at the time that going in and determining what type of field surface would be an issue,” he said. “I thought long and hard, and what it boils down to, for all the years that I have been working in Parks and Recreation — it’s been 33 years — is that in the spring we have nowhere for kids to play, and I’ve tried hard. Our soils are just not compatible with as much water as we get to be able to go out and play … What I am asking is, the supporters of the Festival at Sandpoint, to please consider supporting the artificial turf for the eight concerts that we have, knowing in exchange that we can pack thousands of kids on that space.”

During Wednesday’s meeting, a number of community members spoke for and against artificial turf, with Bob Witte being the first to the podium. While he wears many hats, he said, he had his Festival hat on that evening. Witte said he believes artificial turf would take away from the aesthetics of the event, and would like to see the city consider synthetic fields at some of the other parks such as Travers and keep Memorial Field natural.

“That having been said, if you guys do decide to go artificial turf at Memorial Field, we are willing to give it a try,” Witte said.

Other concerns raised by opponents of the artificial turf outside of the Festival were from residents who live in the neighborhood, as there will be increased usage of the field with the number of youth sports that will be able to practice and play there every day. Some requested the decision be tabled, as they only recently learned of the final design that contemplated artificial turf.

Kate McAlister, president of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, said she was there to represent the business owners who are worried that, if the turf decision has a negative impact on the Festival, it would be detrimental to their businesses.

“This is a $2 million economic boom in our community each year, and there are businesses who really rely on this,” McAlister said, adding that those who would come to town for an athletic event are from a different spending group than Festival-goers. “... Festival attendees, for the most part, have more disposable income. Parents, when they have their kids in tournaments … it costs a lot of money to put your kids in sports. So their income spend is not going to be as much as those who come to attend the Festival. I’m concerned that businesses would have to close, and that is a trickle down effect.”

On the proponent side of artificial turf, former Lake Pend Oreille School District trustee Steve Youngdahl was first up, encouraging the council members to take the recommendation by GreenPlay.

“You were grappling with a very difficult decision, you hired some experts to come in, and take a look at the landscape and give some recommendations — they have,” Youngdahl said. “The design they came up with wasn’t even on my radar, but I will tell you that I love the addition of the softball field.”

A few of the coaches of local youth sports also spoke, outlining the challenges of practicing baseball in a gym, or traveling out of town to get practice time in, as well as the positive economic impact on the community with people coming to town for games and tournaments throughout the year, and the potential to retain student athletes in Sandpoint who might otherwise leave.

Susan Austin, a 50-year resident of Sandpoint, said she is in favor of “doing the right thing for the community and the neighborhood.”

“I think it is a difficult decision,” Austin said. “We have been over it for many years. Having a neighborhood field that is going to be used a lot more than it is now is a problem for the neighborhood. I understand that. But we have had many, many times when we have had opportunities to go and say what we think about the fields, whether it is artificial or grass … I can’t say that I am in favor of the added time that people are going to use that field in a residential area, but it seems to be the best option.”

A number of questions were asked and answered during the more than three-hour meeting on Wednesday. The meeting video can be viewed on the city’s website at sandpointidaho.gov.

GreenPlay’s design includes a number of other improvements to Memorial Field as well, including an expanded parking lot to get some of the vehicles off of the residential streets surrounding the venue, as well as the addition of a softball field, softball and baseball grandstands, an improved boat launch, a fenced dog park area and more.

City officials plan to select an engineer on Nov. 20, with engineering design slated to wrap up on Feb. 1, then out to bid for a construction contractor the following day. While portions of the overall design will be phased over time, construction period for the turf is expected to start on April 1 with a completion date of July 31, though Stapleton said the city is not held to the schedule. If the bids come back high, for example, they may reject them and put the project off for a year.

“So this is kind of our best case scenario,” Stapleton said.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.