Members of the Rye community continued their discussion about the Nursery Field Improvement Project at a City Council meeting that took place on Wednesday.

The proposed project replaces an existing grass field with a synthetic turf field on city property at 421 Milton Road.

It's a polarizing topic that residents on both sides of the issue spoke up about at the meeting, including some young kids who are active in the sports world.

Those in favor of installing a synthetic turf field said the existing grass field is often closed due to flooding and water saturation.

One parent, also in favor, mentioned that many kids in the city are already playing on synthetic fields at other recreation centers and schools in the area, so they don't mind adding another turf field in Rye and investing in the city's future.

On the other hand, those opposed to installing a synthetic field cited concerns about the environment, materials used to make the field, and potential health risks posed to the people who may use it.

News 12 spoke with Dr. Vishal Mehta, an orthopedic surgeon at Mount Sinai, to get his take on the safety of synthetic turf fields.

"For the most part, they are safe," Dr. Mehta said. "However, when compared to grass fields-- that’s kind of the interesting part of the equation.. it’s actually shown to be a little bit more dangerous in terms of the injuries."

The city also brought in their engineer and field construction director from Princeton University to the meeting to provide further expertise on this topic.