Adams Commission Wants More Info on Infield Choice
 The Parks Commission decided to confer with the parks supervisor over a choice of infield material. |
ADAMS, Mass. — The Parks Commission took no action on recommending a material for the Renfrew baseball field infield replacement.
Because of rough conditions of the current infield, $10,000 had been appropriated to replace it.
During Monday night's meeting, Parks Supervisor David Nuvaille left a sample of infield material form Sheffield Pottery.
The sample material is 3/5 clay and 2/5 title five screen sand. The total cost including delivery would be $9,900.
Nuvaille said in a letter read by the commission that the material is rock-free and drains well.
He also proposed a red clay material that was more expensive and more difficult to maintain.
Commissioner James Fassell said although red clay looks really nice, the amount they could afford would not work.
"The clay mix that we have now is mud in the winter and a dust bowl in the summer," Fassell said. "What Dave wanted to do was get something that is much more like a screen sand that would hold up and be more permanent place."
Co-President of the Babe Ruth league Quinn Gladu attended the meeting and said the unsuitable material on the field now came from Sheffield and she doesn't feel comfortable buying from the same place without looking at other options.
"I think we have a beautiful facility that there was a significant public investment made in, and we have people that come from New York and get excited to play here," Gladu said. "We always hear, 'How could they build such a beautiful facility without an appropriate infield?' "
She said there are a lot of rocks in the material currently on the infield.
"The material that is there now came from Sheffield Pottery, and it has stones in it," she said. "We have been picking up stones for years ... and it doesn't drain."
She said she would rather an expert look at the field.
"I am not an expert, and it doesn't sound like anyone on the board installs them," she said. "Dave does a great job, but I don't know if he's an expert either, and ... it's no shot against Dave, he is good at his job, but it's a big investment."
Gladu recommended looking at other quality fields and seeing what material they use.
The commissioners said they trusted Nuvaille's recommendation and did not feel it is right to go against his opinion. They said they felt he has checked into many of the things Gladu is concerned about.
"We have hired someone who is supposed to know what to do, and the town puts its faith in Dave," Chairman Todd Shafer said. "I think we have a guy in place that does just that, and I think it would be difficult to pay someone else to consult."
Because the board only recommends to the town, the commission decided to take no action on the subject and refer back to Nuvaille to make sure he has checked other options and is sure Sheffield Pottery is the way to go.
Gladu said the lack of communication between the leagues and the town is an ongoing issue.
"I came here a year ago and said if this passes town budget the league would like to be involved in this because we might be able to secure donations to help with excavation," she said. "Nobody has reached out to me."
The commissioners said they weren't informed the town was going to appropriate the money either.
The board also granted Berkshire Arts and Technology Public Charter School access to Valley Street Field for its intramural soccer league. School officials met with other soccer league leaders who use the field to make sure the 4 to 5 p.m. time block they requested did not conflict with the leagues.
Tags: baseball, parks commission, sports fields,
