Costs Escalate For Ball Fields On Amaral Property

By Steve Bigham

Three years ago, the town spent $400,000 to purchase a 13-acre stretch of land along Elm Drive. The “Amaral Property” was eventually turned over to Parks & Recreation to be used for future ball fields.

Now, the town is being asked to pay an additional $550,000 for the development of two smaller sized baseball diamonds on the land. With land costs figured in, the cost of about $500,000 per field has Legislative Council members wondering if this is something much more than Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams.

The council’s finance committee was scheduled to discuss the budgetary item at its meeting Wednesday night (see related story).

According to Parks & Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian, the high cost to build the fields is due to the discovery of unforeseen wetland areas on the parcel. Two retaining walls need to be installed in addition to the extra drainage and irrigation systems. Together with the cost of parking, the development of the two fields will come to about a million dollars.

“It normally costs $200,000 to build a field if you want to do it correctly,” Mrs Kasbarian said.

The debt service portion of the town’s proposed 2000-2001 budget also includes an additional $2 million for the construction of other much-needed athletic fields in town. The Board of Selectmen chose to keep the $550,000 for the Amaral property development in the operating budget. The public works subcommittee last week considered bonding the $550,000 rather than leave it in the operating budget. Mrs Kasbarian disagrees with this position, fearing that her department will really be in trouble should the bonding package not get passed. In addition, Mrs Kasbarian believes the Amaral property needs to be developed no matter what happens at Fairfield Hills.

“There is always the potential for fields at Fairfield Hills, but we don’t know where or when they will go,” Mrs Kasbarian said. “This is a tangible thing right here before us and it’s an extension of Dickinson Park.”

The long, narrow field along Elm Drive and adjacent to Dickinson Park was a key acquisition by the Parks & Recreation Commission. When purchased, it was hoped that the property would provide the fields that the town needed. A shortage of fields in town has become a major issue with residents as the town continues to grow.

The former Amaral property extends in a triangular shape in a northerly direction from Dickinson Park to the point where Elm Drive and Deep Brook Road intersect at the Village Cemetery. The lot lies just north of the Dickinson Park tennis courts.

The property was purchased from the Amaral family for $400,000 using Iroquois Land Preservation and Enhancement Program (LPEP) money.

Currently, there are 25 ball fields in Newtown that are available to the public. However, most of the fields are on school property, often causing scheduling problems. More than 1,200 children take part in Newtown’s soccer programs, which are played on local fields in the spring, summer, and fall. Fields have become overcrowded with practices and games bumping up against one another.

Dickinson Park Bathrooms

The bathrooms at Dickinson Park may finally get built nearly a year after the material was first delivered. Mrs Kasbarian said members of the highway department would do the construction. The town is currently going through the permit process.

The bathrooms – to be built near the park’s pavilion – were supposed to go up last year. However, the P&R Commission was unable to finds a contractor willing to do the job.

“We went out to bid three times and were unable to get a contractor. It’s a small job,” Mrs Kasbarian said.

Last year’s town budget included $100,000 for the construction of the latrines.