As summer draws to a close, the softball field under construction on Ann Lees Road remains a field in dreams only. Home plate, a pitcher’s plate, and bases have yet to be installed; fencing for the field’s backstop is lower than required; the player dugouts lack a proper exit; and the April completion date stipulated in the contract is long gone.
At last week’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, Town Administrator Tim Bragan announced that the town had terminated its contract with Great Horizons, the company hired to construct a regulation softball field on conservation land next to Ann Lees Road. The company has received one $13,000 payment for its work, Bragan reported. But he said he could not comment on whether Harvard would sue to recover that money.
The project has a long and fraught history. When Harvard’s girls softball program lost its one regulation field at Hildreth Elementary School to make way for construction of the new school, last year’s October Special Town Meeting approved the expenditure of $40,000 to convert the existing ball field into one that would meet Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) standards for youth softball. The project was put out to bid; two companies responded. Great Horizons of Brentwood, New Hampshire, was awarded the contract in November, which stipulated the work be completed no later than April 1, in time for spring interscholastic sports.
The arrival of winter weather, however, delayed the start of construction. Meantime, even though the contract called for the company to file a Notice of Intent and get the approval of the Conservation Commission prior to beginning work, it failed to do so. The commission’s approval was required because the Ann Lees parcel abuts wetlands, but Great Horizons did not submit its paperwork until April 4. Though it quickly gained the commission’s approval, softball season had begun, and both the varsity and junior varsity softball teams were forced to move their practices and home games to Ayer Shirley High School for the duration, which ended in June. As of this week, the field remains unfinished.
Bragan told the commission Monday that the town will solicit bids to finish the work. In a conversation with the Press, Bragan said that he and procurement officer Marie Sobalvarro would seek the advice of Parks and Rec before issuing a request for proposals.
