At a Middlesex Township work session meeting Wednesday, supervisors and residents discussed the pros and cons of potential construction of a turf soccer field at the Middlesex Township Community Park.

Blair Gerlach, soccer coach for the Mars Area Soccer Club, brought the subject up at the meeting. He said that previous discussions on planned soccer field construction at the park hadn't worked out in the past due to cost, and that he wanted to follow up.

“The club that I run, we play teams from other states. When another team comes from another state to play and it rains, you can't just cancel,” Gerlach said. “It has to be on a turf surface.”

Gerlach said he wanted to find out if there was interest in exploring a turf field project, and how the soccer club could put in money up front to get the project off the ground and support it. He said the field plans would be relatively simplistic.

“I'm talking about a field with Porta Johns, I'm not talking about two turf fields with huge entry gates and concession stands,” Gerlach said. “I wanted to see if there is anything I could do to find out where the board stands on wanting to develop this property.”

Middlesex supervisors were concerned about upfront costs and expenses for the field, but recommended that Gerlach continue to discuss with township manager Adam Hartwig.

“There's a lot of maintenance and special equipment,” supervisor Donald Marshall said, questioning the cost efficiency of a turf field. “Then, you have to find someone who is going to work it, I don't know. I'm not against it, but we have to get it off the ground here a little bit better.”

Supervisor Mike Spreng emphasized that he wanted Middlesex to spend responsibly.

“We are not going to ever overspend as long as I am sitting here,” Spreng said. “Just because we have it doesn't mean we have to spend it.”

Gerlach said that a new field could be beneficial for the area.

“From an athletic standpoint, in a growing community it's certainly something that people are going to want,” Gerlach said. “If we have outside people coming in for games, they need to eat somewhere, they need to get gas somewhere, all these people are going to go to the local shops. It's certainly going to bring people to the area.”

No motions were voted on about the field idea at the meeting.