A church carnival left a public school field badly damaged, causing some controversy in Greenwich.

St. Roch's Church has held its annual feast for close to 100 years. Back in 2009, they stopped using the field at Hamilton Avenue School after geothermal systems were installed, preventing activities like carnivals.

After a series of expert opinions, the town approved the church to come back onto the field, but many are now complaining of the damage that has been left behind.

Images shared with News 12 from Greenwich Public Schools show the before and after of what the field looked like. The once green field is now yellow, with carnival ride marks still imprinted in the ground.

Greenwich residents say they are frustrated the town approved the church to have the feast, as it could threaten sensitive technology installed under the field back in 2009.

"At this point, I think all we need to do is focus on repairing the damage and making sure it doesn't happen again, and I think it should be a shared goal of every taxpayer and this in particular case, making sure no taxpayer money is spent," said Mark Kordick, Greenwich RTM District 9.

Church parishioners involved in the process to get the feast back to the location this year say they hired experts to assess the risks, and later the town approved and permitted the church to use the field.

"The plant biologist wrote out for us exactly what would be needed to be bring back the field as soon as it was over. And it's pretty simple -- it's grass, dirt and water," said St. Roch parishioner Pat Cappiali.

News 12 reached out to Greenwich Public Schools for comment, which who said the Parks and Recreation Department and Facilities Department are assessing the situation.