Ball Field, Trails & Parking Closer To Reality At Fairfield Hills

By Kendra Bobowick

Residents are now a step closer to meandering along the revamped trails through the Fairfield Hills campus, enjoying a pickup game of softball on a new full-size field, and having ample room to park.

Fairfield Hills Authority members now strive to “reach a milestone” as member Walter Motyka explained, by devoting $35,000 for engineers to flesh out at least another 60 percent of the plans presented by Vollmer Associates LLP partner Gary Sorge.

“We’re looking for additional accuracy and we have to spend money to get there,” said Chairman Robert Geckle. Eventually he seeks a “very detailed engineering package to go out to bid,” he explained.

Discussion about existing trails surfaces, reserving campus space for the possibility of future Board of Education needs, and where precisely to place a parking lot led to the allocation of $35,000. The money will come from the $20-plus million already allotted for the overall Fairfield Hills redevelopment.

Members requested that engineers advance current designs for the field, trails, parking, and demolition. Further details will illuminate several phases of walking trails including routes, surfacing, and grade, the demolition of Fairfield House where the ball field will be situated, and temporary parking in proximity to the field.

Trails and fields had been in the preliminary plans for the campus, and had originally included more than one baseball field. Parks and Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian said that of all trails and playing fields, two 90-foot fields were her priority. Past months’ meetings between authority members and design engineers have discussed options including the potential of one 90-foot field, as presented Monday night.

Ms Kasbarian, who attended the meeting, said, “I am happy to see they are moving ahead on the ball fields and trails.” Despite her two-field priority, “We’re down to one,” she said.

The Parks and Recreation director believes timing will determine when the field can be seeded and then opened. If delays prevent her department from seeding until spring, she estimates the field will not be prepared for use until spring of 2008.

Mr Sorge explained his firm’s reasoning for placing the field at the Fairfield House site.

“It’s isolated demolition and reduces costs and focuses on one building on the perimeter,” he said.

Travelers turning off Wasserman Way at the light near the Fairfield Hills engineer’s house will enter the campus and encounter an intersection. Traveling straight will bring visitors to the back of the campus, where Fairfield House now sits on the outskirts of the cluster of buildings.

Mr Sorge explained that the soil “is suitable to being amended and reused, which should save some money.” He also mentioned that the groundwork for future lighting would be put into place.

“We’ll get the conduit, but no poles,” he said.

The Fairfield House is slated for demolition followed by backfill. Parking posed several possibilities. Mr Sorge presented his multipurpose approach saying, “We’re trying to be as economical as we can with the parking.”

In coming weeks O&G Industries, Inc, Preconstruction Manager Scott Baillie will provide updated information about the new town hall, slated to occupy a revamped Bridgeport Hall, and will also require improved parking.

Mr Sorge said, “We’ll see an overlap. While town hall is empty, why not use the lot for the ball field?” Further reasoning indicated that town hall business hours would not conflict with game times.

Mr Sorge then steered the conversation toward the trails. “How much do we spend and what to do first were the key questions,” he explained.

Mr Sorge explained that he had begun looking at slopes and existing trails for accessibility and surface conditions, to start. He broke down the trail project into several phases. One phase or section of trails begins at the lot beside Litchfield House and moves along the edges of the campus toward a summit. The second portion or new portion of trail would make a short cut to a third portion of the trails systems slated for improvement. The third leg of the trail runs behind the proposed field and down toward the cul-de-sac visible from Wasserman Way traveling down toward the Exit 11 ramps.

Mr Sorge said, “We concentrated on trails hugging the perimeter of the site and didn’t focus on interior because [that central area of campus] would be occupied by private interests.” As plans move ahead, the authority is also currently investigating leasing options for other areas of campus that will not be devoted to municipal uses.

Grant funds may provide a resource for the trails project, which authority members are still investigating.