Open Mic: Resident Todd Ulrich on Nursery Field & 3,000 Student Athletes

Open Mic is a feature on MyRye.com where we highlight a resident speaking on an issue in front of Rye City Council. Residents typically speak at Council during the “open mic” agenda item (called “Members of the public may be heard on matters for Council consideration that do not appear on the agenda.”) or at a scheduled public hearing on a particular issue.

On January 24, 2024, resident Todd Ulrich, 20 Hillside Place, spoke on Nursery Field. Ulrich sits on the board of Rye Youth Lacrosse. The proposal to install an artificial turf field on the Nursery Field property has been a lighting rod issue at Council (see Table Turns on Mayor as New Majority Asserts Control: Nursery Field, Rye Golf Issues Challenged). The Council is planning an extended presentation on Nursery Field for its February 28, 2024 meeting.

Ulrich read an open letter from the youth sports groups that claim to represent 3,000+ student athletes:

Listen to Ulrich and read the letter:

Dear Jon Elsen of the Rye Record, City Manager Greg Usry, Mayor Cohn and the Rye City Council,

This is an open letter from the Rye Youth Sports organizations that represent 3,000+ Rye student-athletes of all ages. We consist of Rye Youth Ulrich(800 members), Rye Youth Soccer (1,100 members), Rye Little League (520 members ), Rye Town Youth Football (400 members), Rye Rangers (400 members), and Rye Youth Rugby (50 members). Additionally, some of our organizations have 100+ parent volunteer coaches. We speak for thousands of people and hundreds of families. Before us, many groups of Rye residents asked for better fields for their kids. After us there will be thousands more Rye residents asking for better fields for their kids.

We write to you today, united in our belief that Rye’s children deserve more reliable fields. We live with this issue every season, every rainfall. And we know all too well the negative impacts it has on our members, the children of Rye. This field is on the goal line, please help us all move forward.

Mr. Elsen, as the new editor of the Rye Record, you have a tremendous responsibility to the community, especially to the children who are without a voice in politics or in the paper. We ask that you please do your homework before publishing articles that contain inaccurate information or omit relevant facts. We ask that you reach out to us to learn more about this project, and be more passionate about the needs of kids. We can help you better understand the issue, we live this every day. We ask that you provide your readers with the fair and balanced analysis they deserve. If you decide to give your opinion, or post a letter that highlights “Serious Risk” to our children playing on turf, please reach out to us to offer our insights. We can help. We have never once been contacted by a single family expressing concern about their child playing on turf. But we have been contacted many times by families complaining about the conditions of our grass fields and the cancellation rates of our grass fields. Our programs are an available resource to you.

Mr. Usry, as the City Manager you have the ability to influence the priorities of the City. At times you seem enthusiastic about a $3mln gift to the city of Rye. At other times you seem like there are better things to do. We get it, a lot goes into running a municipality. We do think there is room for this project in 2024. We ask that you please prioritize this. PRIORITIZE the well-being of our student athletes. They have waited long enough for fields. Please don’t make them wait longer.

Rye City Council members, twice in the last five years a group of parents has stood before you begging you to accept a gift of millions of dollars to support fields for kids. We are asking that you take a field already owned and operated by the City of Rye, already designated entirely for use as an athletic field for kids, and currently gravely under-serving the community because of terrible field conditions and a high cancellation rate, and bring it into this decade. Into a field that could serve the community year-round. Nursery Field has already been fully vetted with a full environmental review and hydrological analysis, and neither the environmental review nor the hydrological analysis raised any red flags about the ability to responsibly put a turf field at Nursery Field. This field has been fully vetted, and we have yet to hear any objective reason why this project shouldn’t advance. Looking at other sites for a turf field is possible, but it will cost the kids years of time, and it will cost the city not only the $300,000 already invested into the Nursery Field project, but additional funds to study additional fields which will definitely amount to another $300,000 or more. It would be financially irresponsible of the City Council to turn its back on a project that is fully funded, 90 % of the way planned, and fully vetted from an environmental and hydrological perspective.

Do the right thing for our kids and move forward with the Nursery Field Improvement Project.

Respectfully,

Rye Youth Lacrosse, Matthew Pymm, President

Rye Youth Soccer, Board of Directors

Rye Little League, Danny McCarthy, President

Rye Town Youth Football, Angel Rosado, President

Rye Rangers, Eric Bommer, President

Rye Youth Rugby, Don Alexander, President