Parks & Rec Plans Field Improvements

By Jan Howard

The Parks and Recreation Commission is planning to fix the infield at the Middle School field so it is playable more often.

Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Larry Haskel said last week that the 90-foot field is wet and hard to use. Improvements to it, with help from a grant from the Babe Ruth League, would improve the field so it would not be necessary to restrict play as has been the case in the past, Mr Haskel said.

The commission, which met on November 4, spent much of its time that night working on its budget, which is due to the Board of Finance on November 26.

The board has also spent some time discussing capital improvements. Mr Haskel said two 90-foot baseball fields are a top priority at this time. He said the town also needs a community center that would have meeting rooms and a gymnasium with two full size basketball courts to alleviate the problems with scheduling in the schools.

He said the Hawley School field also needs repairs and that the board would make that a priority.

There is money in the budget for improvements at Oakview field, he noted.

Mr Haskel also discussed potential projects that may be proposed in the future by private developers interested in constructing indoor recreation facilities. These include one that would offer indoor soccer and baseball infield facilities that would be developed through private financing and run on a nonprofit basis.

Mr Haskel said the proposed project would be very ambitious and expensive. “Organizations would have to pay to use it,” he said. He said he has seen the plan, and is waiting to hear further from the developer.

Another proposal would include a gymnasium with a basketball court as part of a larger plan for a community center.

Parks and Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian said at the present time both proposals are in limbo. “I assume once we have the closing [on Fairfield Hills], we will see a lot of this coming forward,” she said.

She said the idea of an indoor facility “would be great.”