Stonington - Could Stonington High School be the next area school to boast an artificial turf field?

First Selectman Ed Haberek said last week it's a possibility as town and school officials consider options for upgrading and expanding the number of athletic fields in town.

They will hold a public forum Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Stonington High School to present various options and take questions and comments from the public.

The fields at the high school are heavily used and Haberek said it's difficult to keep them in playable condition. This past fall, the girl's field hockey team could not host state tournament games and the soccer team had to cancel home games, Haberek said.

"The fields are in pretty bad shape. They don't get any rest with so many teams and outside groups using them," he said.

Haberek said he will be putting together a task force that will make recommendations about how to address the field problem. That group will include town and school officials as well as organizations that use the fields.

He said there could be recommendation for new fields, new drainage or an artificial turf field. The latter costs as much as $1 million but there are little maintenance costs and the field can be lined to accommodate several sports such as football, soccer and field hockey. They can also be used more than natural grass fields.

Other southeastern Connecticut high schools that have turf fields are Waterford, New London and Montville high schools as well as Norwich Free Academy.

Haberek said the task force's proposal will be a long-term solution and not a "Band-Aid." He said he has heard from many parents, families and groups about the need for new fields and called it a "quality of life issue."

Haberek said the town has also been talking with the adjacent Davis Standard Corp. about the possibility of acquiring some of its undeveloped land for high school field expansion.

Haberek said the town would bond the work and he would like to bring the $1 million to $2 million project to a vote this spring so work could begin this summer. In addition, he said work to repair a list of deteriorating roads would also be added to the bonding package. Possible roads include Renee Drive, Stillman Avenue, Palmer Street, Field Street and Greenhaven Road in Pawcatuck; Rossie Street, Reynolds Hill Road and Hewitt Road in Mystic and Lantern Hill Road in Old Mystic.

"It will be up to the residents to decide this. We want to put it out there and give them an opportunity to vote," he said.

Haberek said town would hold a public information meeting before any vote is held.

j.wojtas@theday.com