Baseball Diamond A Step Closer To Opening Day

By Kendra Bobowick

“I am extremely satisfied. I couldn’t have asked for better,” said Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Edward Marks. Sitting in on a Fairfield Hills Authority meeting Wednesday evening, he was among those to hear promising news regarding the new 90-foot baseball diamond now carved into the former footprint of Fairfield House.

Project Manager David Cravanzola with O&G Industries Inc, told the authority, “The seed is down. We met a milestone.” Wednesday morning sprinklers fed water to the smoothly graded and recently seeded topsoil.

“The field is shaping up, it looks great,” he said. The field occupies the former site of Fairfield House, which was demolished earlier this summer. With the former brick building down and the field settled at the base of a sloping hillside leading to a higher meadow, authority members agreed the view was “spectacular,” as Mr Geckle had said. “It’s amazing to see what was there and what is there now,” Mr Cravanzola said.

With the outfield seeded, he explained that infield sod and clay work is scheduled for upcoming weeks. An irrigation system, which intermittently swept arcs of water over the graded surface this week, is also working.

The recreation department had prioritized the baseball field as its top need and in conjunction with O&G and the Fairfield Hills Authority, coordinated plans for the new diamond.

The seed deadline was September 17. As Mr Cravanzola had explained in past weeks, the seed needed time to establish itself so the field would be ready to receive teams by next fall.

Falling within budget and left with a contingency of $55,000, one aspect of the project that had been removed to save money will be reintroduced into the scope of field work. Outfield fencing at the estimated cost of roughly $35,000 is again within budget. Authority members agreed that a fence would help protect the field.

John Reed said, “It has to go in,” and Walt Motyka continued, “Before someone damages the field.” The demolition and abatement of Fairfield House was an estimated $300,000, and the field construction was an estimated $522,000.