Adams Parks Commission Concerned about Berm near Russell Field

ADAMS, Mass. — The Parks Commissioners are concerned about a berm near the scoreboard on Russell Field, which they believe is small enough to let water from a nearby stream overflow.  

"There's a hill that protects the stream from going into the field. At that point, that berm, that hill, is very small and inadequate," said Commission Member James Fassell. 

The stream is located just feet from the field's scoreboard. The commission voted to let the Department of Public Works deal with the issue and plans to bring the problem to the Board of Selectmen if DPW can not fix it alone. 

Selectman Joseph Nowak attended the meeting and said he noticed the berm when visiting the field last month. He said he also saw trees were blocking certain field lights. 

"I walked over and just noticed that it's really getting close ... And another thing too I noticed, along the whole stream, there's a lot of brush that's fallen in there that should be thrown off to the side, because it starts to catch leaves and it changes directions," he said. 

In other business, the commission tabled discussion on dedicating two Sundays for Hoosac Valley High School junior football as no representatives from the school district were present. Michael Mucci, chair of the Hoosac Valley Regional School Committee, said at the commission's June 13 meeting that junior football did this in previous years. 

The commission also tabled discussion on the proposed new Valley Street Field shed, as Mike Benson of the Adams-Cheshire Little League was unable to attend. Benson said at the June 13 meeting that the league is still working on getting funds for the project. 

The board voted to support the move of the infield bleachers at Renfrew Field after Parks Foreman Steve Skrocki suggested at a previous meeting that the move would keep heavy machinery off the field. 

Mark Pizani, an equipment operator at DPW, said the change should cause less wear for both the field and the bleachers. 

"It's not a good idea to keep moving those bleachers onto the infield," he said. "It really screws up our work to get done on the baseball field. I have to roto-till that field every year because when it's not being played on when we're not working on it, grass grows up to it like crazy."

Fassell said he did not personally agree with the move but voted to support the measure, saying he understands why the original bleacher placement is an issue. 

The commission will meet next on Aug. 8. 

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