Robots Here, Robots There, Soon Drawing All the Lines for Sports Fields in Blooming Grove

Sample athletic field painting robot

Blooming Grove, NY - At 2 of the Town's Board Meetings for September, Council members considered a plan to buy a "Robot" paint unit system that can be programmed to draw practically anything. That includes all of the lines at the Town's athletic fields (Football, Soccer, Paddleball, Baseball, Basketball and including the Athletic Fields Parking Lots). It can even draw small and large logos to specifications. The Council debated whether whether tthis might be an unnecessary expense, or could it actually be a very efficient and less expensive way to pay for work that is just drudgery for the Parks, Rec & Building crews? Town Supervisor Rob Jeroloman collected and reviewed the information about how it works for many months, and met with New Windsor officials who not only recently got a paint robot and had a chance to evaluate its success, but recommended it to Blooming Grove. After making sure that staff training comes with the contract, the rest of the board agreed that it sounds like a great alternative. The whole thing is done by GPS, and once the locations have been entered the unit goes off on its own and paints to within 2cm of perfection, allowing staff to tackle work that requires a more "thinking" human. Given the hourly pay for staff, and the discounts that this particular Detailing Robot company is offering (plus more if the Town successfully recomments the system to other municipalities), it is probably relatively close to a 'wash' as to cost. The basic cost will be approximately $7,500 annually(plus regular paint purchases) and the sports teams are being asked to chip in on cost (with the Lasser Park Football Teams WYFCL being first to contribute). Given the likely at least $3,000-$4000 savings in staff time, it might be a "No Brainer"

Take Me To Your Leader - Among other interesting capabilities this relatively small robot knows to stop if something is in its way. Not only does it automatically stop, it calls a staff member for help, Really! And what does it do when it's work for the day is done? Why just like us, it goes "home" to wherever it has been told its home is.

Cost factors are a little complicated to determine precisely since they depend on

how quickly the paint is absorbed by the land, and also by the weather since a couple of heavy rain days can wash off significant paint. The paint concentrate is not particularly expensive - when mixed with water it runs at or below $8/gallon, but there are a LOT of inches and feet when considering all of the sport fields in Blooming Grove. Company managers have already offered much in the way of ongoing cost estimates and discounts for paint, which could be significant. Also, all training for staff is free. And if there is a rainy season or heavy snow, the good news is that the robot doesn't care if it has to do it all over again in a couple of months, and the staff will still have more interesting geared-for-a-human-brain things to do. It will be interesting to see how their jobs may change in detail when the season is done. Even the parents of the sports players will get a break, since quite a few usually chip in and volunteer to help the massive painting necessities. They also can take up more challenging ways to help the athletes.

By the end of September's last meeting of the month discussion, Blooming Grove Council Members all gave a thumbs up for Supervisor Jeroloman to move forward toward contract being finalized for this innovative computerized paint machine.

As icing on the cake for Fall sports, Lasser Field has a grant to install a new flag that will be lit by a floodlight installed on the concession stand.