Pleasant Comparisons—

Athletic Fields:

Something To Cheer About

By Kendra Bobowick

Previous successes pave the way for Fairfield Hills athletic field improvements, say those now enjoying revamped fields and facilities elsewhere in the state. Fairfield Hills project construction manager O&G Industries can list among its successes the Morehouse Farm project in Weston and the New Milford High School Athletic Complex.

Youth activities now fill previously vacant farm fields in Weston, opening more than 30 acres to recreation. O&G Preconstruction Manager Scott Baillie reported that “everyone is pleased” with the youth baseball fields and pavilion, five full-size baseball fields, four soccer fields, two multiuse fields, and parking and lighting all begun in April 2002, and completed in August 2004. The once-wooded lot is now a center of activity.

Fairfield Hills will present similar advantages, Mr Baillie said, citing a projected start for this summer. Although sports is much of the project’s scope, a different outdoor activity is first in line for installation.

“The first priority is a walking trail,” Mr Baillie said, along with a “full-size, 90-foot baseball field”.

The trail may be as long as two to two-and-a-half miles, but its specifics are still “very preliminary,” he said. However, Mr Baillie envisions a trail both scenic and athletic.

“It will meander through the woods and property and will be open to everyone walking or biking,” he said.

Comparisons to the Weston and New Milford projects may help give Newtown an idea of what to expect at Fairfield Hills. Weston Park and Recreation Director Dave Ungar remembers the Morehouse Farm area when it had been resident Minerva Heady’s farmland. The approximate 32-acre area was sold to the town for use as either “recreation activities or for a school if appropriate,” Mr Ungar said.

Today, the originally open and privately owned land is now a heart of athletic events.

“It has been an amazing addition to the recreation menu,” Mr Ungar said. Sports fields now fill the space. “O&G has done a nice job here.”

Adapting to Change

Homeowners are not always ready to see their neighborhood change, as Mr Ungar discovered.

“You would think they would have been thrilled,” he said. “It was just an open space that hadn’t been used in years.”

Despite the new opportunities the space would offer for sports fans and teams, some expressed resistance. Mr Ungar said, “Some neighbors were not happy about all the trees coming down.”

On the contrary, he feels that “the parcel is a wonderful addition.”

The facilities at Morehouse Farm, used by many, “are a bonus as they would be for Newtown. People can use it to keep active, busy, and healthy,” Mr Ungar said.

Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle, Sr, has listened to concerns regarding fields already in place at the complex, but these worries have “no connection to the Fairfield Hills project,” he said.

“We’re very cognizant” of attention drawn to litter, noise, and parking at the existing fields. Future planning will also keep those apprehensions in mind.

“I know historically there are concerns about the existing playing fields and we’re taking that into account,” Mr Geckle said.

Regarding the planning of new fields, he said the authority “deliberately moved playing fields to a nonresidential area. A lot of thought has been given to public concerns and safety.”

Similarly, Mr Geckle described “a lot of flexibility for decisions for future generations.”

It is a sentiment in line with the Fairfield Hills Master Plan, which states, “The most important consideration in purchasing Fairfield Hills from the State of Connecticut is that the Town will control the destiny of the former Fairfield Hills Hospital campus.”

The authority’s next meeting is scheduled for January 17 at 7:30 pm at Town Hall South.