North Adams to Consolidate Parks Sports Programming
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city will start consolidating and decommissioning neighborhood parks and move all activity to Alcombright and Noel Field athletic complexes.
NOTE: The focus is on sports, specifically baseball/softball.
The Parks Commission on Monday night gave its blessing to the plan to start dismantling four parks and consolidating to the two main complexes to lighten the load for the shrinking Department of Public Works.
"When you think of the staffing levels that we have, the only way we are going to have quality fields is to focus on two complexes that we can maintain and begin divesting ourselves of the other areas," Administrative Officer Michael Canales said.
Commissioner Mark Vadnais said the first parks to be dismantled would likely be Freeman and Brayton.
Freeman, on Eagle Street and Hospital Avenue, was the site of the former junior high school; it has a neighborhood playground and hosts girl's minor league softball and basketball.
Brayton is on Barbour Street below Brayton School and the YMCA; it also has a neighborhood playground and hosts softball, baseball, youth soccer, basketball.
"We can move or destroy the dugouts, take up any pegs, mounds or plates and then let it go to seed and then we just cut it," he said. "Just make it a green space."
He said next would be Kemp Park and Fallon Field, which will be more involved.
Little League currently uses Fallon Field, next to Greylock School, and before the city can abandon the field, it would have to establish a Little League field at one of the two complexes. He said they would most likely establish a field at Noel Field on State Street.
Kemp Park has a recently installed playground, a field for Little League baseball and a basketball court. It used to have a skating rink.
Vadnais added that once these fields are decommissioned, the city could sell them.
A representative from the Little League said the league had plans to install lights and make repairs to the concession stand at Fallon, but considering the consolidation, they plan to put efforts toward a new field.
Vadnais added that he had talked to the Mayor Richard Alcombright and that the mayor not only supported the consolidation but said the city would assist in the transition and possibly match funds up to a certain amount.
Noel Field has electricity, can support lights and has bathroom facilities. A field would have to be created with dugouts and a concession stand.
Little League plans to make the switch by 2019.
Canales said the city will internally prioritize the order in which the parks will be decommissioned and work with the local leagues to make sure all their needs are met in the two complexes.
"We are going to have to do it piece by piece and move everything and anything that is happening outside of the two major complexes," he said. "We need to find out what we need for fields and make it work."
In other business, Canales told the commission that there has not been much action on the skate park planned for Noel Field but work should commence in March with a June finish date.
"There is not a lot happening but it should be ramping up soon," he said.
Tags: public parks, sports fields,
