Closure of Fields for Maintenance Delayed Until Late Summer or Fall of 2026

The Town will delay closing fields that have been identified for renovation until late summer or fall 2026, after the new multipurpose field and reconstructed baseball field at Haines Park are playable.

Once complete and ready for play, the Haines Park fields will enable the Town to begin taking heavily used fields off-line to complete renovation projects identified in the Athletic Fields Condition and Needs Analysis (2024) by Traverse.

Priority fields identified for renovation but will remain open until the Haines fields are ready include St. Andrew’s Farm and the baseball field at Chianese. Another field under consideration for major maintenance work is the Middle School soccer/lacrosse field closest to Roberta Plat; any work/field closure at school fields will be in coordination with the School Department.

To improve the playability of the Town’s fields, the Town will need to shut down fields for an extended period of time to complete projects - such as improvements to drainage, irrigation and surface reconstruction – and to allow newly planted grass to become established as a playable turf field.

Annual rotation of fields coming offline for maintenance improvements is critical, according to the fields report. It states: “These improvements should include helping to improve playing and safety conditions of the fields are our primary goals. Improved surface and sub surface drainage, and the promotion of deeper and denser root development will help us achieve these goals. This approach can help improve the playing conditions by utilizing the targeted approach of fraise mowing, and increased cultural actions implemented each year.”

The Town is working toward adding and upgrading its fields and related facilities utilizing funding from a $4.5 million fields bond approved by voters at the 2024 Financial Town Meeting.

The need to improve the quality of fields must be “rectified through an increase in spaces that can sustain more use, allowing for the resting and repair of fields and long-term planning of maintenance of fields,” according to the report, which also evaluated fields needs at schools. The goal, according to the report, is to take a softball field, baseball field and a rectangular field “offline each year. This will allow for all fields to get rest and rehabilitation at least once every ten years.”

Construction of the $1.4 million project at Haines Park will start this spring, with completion in the fall of 2025. The work will net the Town one additional full-size multipurpose field. The scope also includes reconstruction of the Harrington 1 baseball field, improvements to the softball field, additional parking, a walking path, tree replanting and other site improvements. Funding for this project is from American Rescue Plan grant funds (approximately $950,000), with the balance coming from the fields bond.

The Town Council and the Park and Recreation Commission are working on a project prioritization list for the expenditure of the remaining bond funds.