Adams Selectmen Settle Youth Softball Dispute
ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen on Wednesday night approved ACS Girls Softball's facility usage request for Reid Field and denied the Lassie League use of the field, solidifying the split within the league.
The board ended the field conflict between the Lassie League and the newly formed Adams-Cheshire-Savoy league with a 3-1 vote granting ACS use of Reid, which the Lassie League has used for years, leaving the Lassie League with only Russell Field.
"I don't know what can be added and I don't know where everyone stands," Chairman Jeffrey Snoonian said. "All I know is that there have been some meetings and I do thank you for trying but is sounds like people are pretty well set and it sounds like ACS is going to have a league."
The two groups came to the board last month after disagreements within the Lassie League lead to a split and the Parks Commission recommended only the Lassie League have use of the two fields. During the heated meeting, the Selectmen asked the two leagues to resolve their issues before forcing the selectmen's hand to divvy up the fields.
Although Wednesday's meeting was more subdued with little rehashing of past issues, both factions crowded the Selectmen's Meeting Room.
Lassie League Vice President Gary Puppolo said with the two high school teams, multiple teams and leagues, using the two fields is going to be difficult.
"We have always had Reid and Russell Fields. We have two high school teams in town that also use those fields ... so space is limited," he said. "We work very well with the high school but .... having three leagues on two fields will create a logjam, especially when rainouts happen."
He added that he felt the Lassie League has only made improvements to the fields and did nothing wrong to jeopardize its field use.
ACS board member Samantha Porio asked the board for a chance run their league.
"You have the ability to vote on this every year and all we are asking for is to get Reid for this one season," she said. "Then you can see how we operate and the numbers and next year you have the right the vote us down."
Selectman Joseph Nowak said he read the many letters delivered to the Selectmen about the matter and although he saw merit in both leagues, felt the letters were too personal to be included in his consideration.
Nowak said he was a "nuts and bolts man" and asked how the leagues would actually operate.
Porio said 88 players have pre-registered for the league and the league did not want to officially collect money until they knew they had field usage.
She said there would be four divisions but no travel team, just house. The league also has permission to use Bowe Field for practice and if not granted field usage, would use Bowe Field as a makeshift primary field.
Puppolo said his league would have four divisions plus travel. He said the league is under the Babe Ruth charter and just teamed up with North Adams.
He said currently there are 77 players signed up, paid for and ready to play and he expects more to be coming in. He said normally the league averages around 110 players.
He said even with an independent league of 110, teams will often play each other over and over again and the Lassie League strives to bring more leagues into the mix.
The Selectmen shared the concern that a large number of girls might want to leave the Lassie League.
"My predicament is if I hear if 80 other kids want to play softball and for whatever reason, they don't want to play in the Lassie League I have a hard time telling 80 girls they have nowhere to play," Snoonian said.
Puppolo said they do have a place to play in town, with the Lassie League.
"They are choosing not to play with the league that is already here and we are willing to meet with any parent who wants to come and talk to us," he said. "We are not turning kids away. If there are concerns, we will listen."
"If they wanted to start their own league they should have known that the Lassie League already uses these fields. They should have lined up something else."
Former Lassie League Board member and now ACS Secretary Donna Poulton said the contrary.
"In the past two years, parent and players have had numerous complaints that went unnoticed," she said. "It was not acknowledged ... it is not the parents pressuring these 88 kids to come play with ACS, it is the girls who do not want to play with the Lassie League."
Lassie League Secretary Cindy Bird asked the select board why the Reid Field approval was dropped from the agenda in December, when the usage of both fields was expected for approval. She said the Parks Commission approved Lassie League's usage for both fields, however, when the request came before the selectmen for final approval, they only voted on Russell Field.
Snoonian said the Parks Commission can only make recommendations and that Reid field may have been left out because of a clerical error.
He made the motion to split the field usage, however, the other board members were hesitant to disrupt the established league.
Selectman John Duval said he felt ACS may need to prove itself before taking over the Lassie League's field but noted it is not under the selectmen's purview to decide how many leagues are in town and how they are run.
"Years ago, we started a lacrosse league and a lot of high school teams were against us because they did not want us to take players away from them," Duval said. "We used Bowe Field and we weren't accepted, that is all we had ... over time, we proved to the school board we could operate ... it took time and we started out the same way — we just had a patch of land."
Selectman Joseph Nowak had similar concerns but voted to approve the motion at the last minute because he feared voting against it would mean some girls would not play softball.
"This is almost cut right down the line and I am not an obstructionist ... I would like to see both leagues go but with field availability, I don't think it is going to work," Nowak said. "I am very disappointed that you couldn't get together … but I don't want 80 kids that want to play not to play."
Selectman Richard Blanchard was the only one to vote no.
"For you to start a new league, is great, but to come in and expect to kick out the established group in the 11th hour ... I think I am going to have a hard time supporting that," he said.
Nowak said he was bothered by the divisions tearing through the community with the disagreements in the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District and the Police Athletic League.
"I am quite disappointed about what is happening in this community and I don't understand it," he said. "I don't want this fragmentation to continue ... please try to come together for the good of the community and as a selectman, I do not like to get into this. I don't like being the mediator."
Disclosure: Puppolo is a sales representative with Boxcar Media, iBerkshires' parent company.
Tags: softball, sports fields, youth sports,
