Michael Cohen, a project manager for Trump’s involvement in the EnCap project, said he has authorized FieldTurf to draw specs in order to complete the recreational fields at the base of Valley Brook Avenue. FieldTurf is the synthetic surface that will soon adorn the football field at the high school. According to Cohen, the fields would bear Donald Trump’s name and only need the blessing of the mayor for Trump to enter into a contract and commence with the construction.

"What sparked Mr. Trump to elect to do the ball fields and turf was that he made a commitment to the state that the Lyndhurst ball fields would be ready by May 1," said Cohen. "In order to have it ready by the first, the only way would be to do it with artificial turf or sod. While artificial turf is substantially more expensive, his [Trump’s] feeling is if he builds a ball field that will bear his name, he wants it to be the best possible field in the state."

Trump steps in

As part of a 120-day extension granted by the Attorney General’s office last month to the Trump Organization to fulfill several key environmental and obligatory facets of the project that EnCap failed to meet, completion of the recreation fields was one item on the list. Cohen said crews have begun grading the site where the fields will sit and once the township gives its consent on the plans, lines can be laid and work can commence and he is confident it will be ready for the spring.

"When done, the fields will bear the Trump name…Trump Field One, Trump Field Two, Trump Field Three," said Cohen. Mayor Richard DiLascio responded last week as saying, "That type of arrogance will lead them nowhere."

Breach of contract

The move is not sitting all so well with Lyndhurst officials. In late December, frustrated with the state of affairs involving EnCap’s lack of movement on the field construction, they deemed all agreements with the landfill redeveloper null and void. The mayor and commissioners attributed the lack of recreational fields as the main driving force behind what they had called a "breach of contract" on EnCap’s part…and that went for any subsequent developer as well.

DiLascio said at that time that he would not consider talking to EnCap or Trump officials about the future of his town’s Meadowlands portion of EnCap until he saw any progress on the fields. The board of commissioners went ahead and authorized Neglia Engineering, the township engineer, to begin site analysis and surveying of the complex for preliminary plans of the township phasing it out itself.

Two weeks ago, Cohen said he had left half a dozen messages for DiLascio about the plans, but had no response. Last week, he said "his people" had responded.

"We have heard from Mayor DiLascio, we have heard from his people at least, and we are scheduling to meet and to discuss the project at a later date," said Cohen.

Town begins its own analysis

Upon voiding the deal with EnCap, DiLascio said, "At this time, we have authorized Mr. Neglia’s office to prepare documentation for us to phase in the township finishing these projects on our own. I don’t care who pays for it, someone’s going to pay us back."

Last week, DiLascio said not much has changed as he is not confident Trump nor Cherokee has the funds to finish the fields, particularly with the FieldTurf added to the mix. He said he still has Neglia forging ahead with its own site analysis.

"I would say have them put the money in escrow and we’d finish it ourselves, but I know those funds aren’t there," said DiLascio. "I’m open to sitting down and discussing this, but there should be nothing to discuss. They need to stop telling us what Lyndhurst needs. I don’t need to sign off on this; the plans have been the same for years. There should be equipment down there working if they want to get this done. I saw a minivan and dump truck in the corner the other day…you can’t build a field with those."

DiLascio has sat with department heads, coaches and recreation officials to determine if FieldTurf was the best use and said the softball diamonds and soccer fields would be best suited as they will be the most frequently used, while the baseball field would be grass. He has arranged to meet with Donald Trump and Cherokee Investment Partners CEO Tom Darden to discuss the plans, but said that does not negate the commission’s resolution that the EnCap deal with Lyndhurst was off. He said this would be the first good faith step in a new deal.

"We see a value in redeveloping the Meadowlands. The landfills need to be cleaned and that’s it, but before we agree on letting anyone build out there, we have to start from scratch and first get what’s going to benefit us," said DiLascio. "The last deal did not benefit the township at all. Right now, they don’t have a project that works, it doesn’t exist how it was proposed in 2004."

FieldTurf is a synthetic surface comprised of soft fibers emulating grass atop a sandy mixture composed of a base of pellets recycled from tires. Opposed to artificial turf, or AstroTurf, FieldTurf is considered safer as it is softer and exposes fewer athletes to injury. Although significantly more expensive than sod, the fields save money in the long run considering its minimal maintenance.

Football field

At nearly the same time Trump announced it needed DiLascio’s consent to go ahead with the FieldTurf project, the township moved ahead with its own contract with the synthetic turf company LandTek to lay down a new FieldTurf surface at the high school football field. The bid, authorized for $898,500 would have been zero if the history of EnCap’s promises to the township had been adhered to. Although a written contract had never been produced, EnCap had told the township it would provide the material and work for a synthetic high school football field. Those funds were never received.

"I need my fields done, that’s it, these kids need to be out there playing," DiLascio said.