Adams Parks Commission Upbeat on Renfrew Field Redo
 The Parks Commission is hoping residents won't be so pessimistic about the material being used at Renfrew Field. |
ADAMS, Mass. — The Parks Commission said the new Renfrew baseball infield material seems to be holding up in the rain.
Commissioner Jacob Schutz said he recently went to the field to check on its construction. He said it looked as though the whole infield was dug up a few inches, and the third base line was filled with the new sand clay mix.
“It was pouring out when I was down there, and it looked like it was holding its own,” Schutz said. “It wasn’t really finished so it wasn’t raked and smooth and there were some puddles; I went out to walk on it and it seemed alright.”
The town allocated $10,000 to replace the infield notorious for its water issues.
Schutz said he has still received a lot of complaints from people who feel the new material is the same as the old and will not hold up. Although the material was ordered from the same company, the mixture is different.
Schutz said he wished people would wait for the project to be completed before making judgments.
"[Parks Supervisor David Nuvaille] did some research and made an informed decision on what to buy based on his experience and his experience with the field," he said. "It is not even finished down there and negative comments about what they are trying to do down there are already spreading. I'd like people to make an educated decision before they just base their opinion on what they hear from other people."
Commissioner Barbara Meczywor agreed with Schutz and said her take was that people love the field.
"We get all these people in from out of town, and they think it is such great place," Meczywor said. "I think they have to give it a chance."
Hoosac Valley Athletic Director Mike Henault also met with the commission to request the use of Renfrew Field for this weekend’s football playoff tournament game.
He said normally they play on Saturdays, but the game would not be able to start until after 2:30 because of SAT testing; if the game runs late, it may become too dark to play. He said they would like to use Renfrew on Friday night so the lights can be utilized.
"There are four or five kids on the team taking [the test] and we don’t want them thinking about the game during SATs and then, once it is done, squeezing them in between the end of the test and darkness," Henault said.
With this request, Henault asked if the football team could practice on the field for the rest of the week so the players can acclimate to the new field conditions and playing at night.
He said the school's maintenance crew will help the Department of Public Works prepare the field and if there is heavy rain they will practice elsewhere.
Henault said Renfrew games always have bigger turnouts with nearly 400 people in attendance at some games.
"We had two boys soccer games, two girls soccer games, and the football game there and we had a lot of comments about how nice the field was," he said. "A lot of the crowd was happy to be in Adams and we had more turnout. I think it is good for the community, and I love to see that field loaded on a Friday night."
The commission was agreeable to the idea but could not vote on the request because it was a last minute and was never put on the agenda.
Chairman Todd Shafer said he would ask interim Town Administrator Donna Cesan how to handle the situation but did not foresee any issues.
Tags: athletic complex, football, parks commission,
