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LULING – The St. Charles Parish Department of Parks and Recreation is excited to announce its newest addition to enhance the efficiency of its field crew – Turf Tank, a field painting robot that uses GPS technology and geometric programming to paint sports fields.

The 132-lb machine moves at 1.8 mph and is designed to paint fields and layouts for all sports with maximum precision. Turf Tank can maintain a consistent speed and spray pressure throughout the job, reducing paint consumption by an average of 50% or more.

“St. Charles Parish maintains 40 fields, and Turf Tank has already proven to be a wonderful technological advancement for the Parks and Recreation Department,” President Matthew Jewell said. “By decreasing the time to prep, line and paint fields, we can ensure we spend more hours maintaining the integrity of our parks as a whole, focusing on bathrooms, amenities and more.”

Parks and Recreation implemented Turf Tank this spring and has seen significant increases in efficiency as each field uses approximately 2.5 gallons of paint and takes about 22 minutes to line from start to finish. Previously, each field used nearly five gallons of paint and required four hours of labor between two team members to prep, line and paint.

“We are committed to continuously improving our methods to ensure our residents have premiere recreational facilities,” Director of Parks and Recreation Duane Foret said. “Turf Tank will help us to save $15,000 each year in paint costs alone.”

The mission of the St. Charles Parish Department of Parks and Recreation is to provide quality recreation programs, activities, parks and facilities that allow residents to enhance their quality of life. For more information on Parks and Recreation, visit scpparksandrec.com or call 985-783-5090.