As the school building project comes to a close, the Softball Field Review Subcommittee is trying to quickly determine what it would cost to put either a practice or high school regulation-size softball field in front of Hildreth Elementary School. The group has asked the Parks and Recreation Commission to provide specifications for both types of fields so it can issue a request for quotes. The lack of such specifications for the softball field on Ann Lees Road was the source of many problems with the contractor.
At a June 17 meeting, school building project manager Tom Murphy said there is about $550,000 of undedicated money left in the budget. He added that the town’s
finance director, Jared Mullane, would like to close out the project by June 2023, and that would require completing all spending by the end of summer or early fall. Money can be spent after the project closes, but there would be a waiting period while the entire project is audited.
Member Nick Browse asked whether the town would have to use Arrowstreet, the project’s architectural firm, to design the field. Murphy said no, Arrowstreet has already moved on, and it would be much more expensive to use it even if available. The firm would hire consultants to do the work, then charge overhead, so it would be cheaper to put the project out to bid.
When asked if he anticipated any special circumstances, Murphy said the soil is likely to contain arsenic as most of the soil on the site did, and it would cost money to have it taken to a facility that accepts it. He added that there is also drainage underneath the existing field, which is currently a small soccer field, so the designer would need to be aware of that. Chair Sharlene Cronin told the Press the RFQ will go out as soon as the subcommittee receives sufficient input from Parks and Rec.
Why wasn’t a regulation-size softball field included in the design of the new elementary school?
HES originally had a softball field next to Mass. Ave. that, although too small, was used for high school games because it was considered a legacy field. During design of the new elementary school project, Arrowstreet presented a site design that showed a small soccer field, but not a regulation-size softball field.
At a June 21, 2018, School Building Committee meeting, Superintendent Linda Dwight directed the architects to replace the soccer field with a softball field, saying that no regulation soccer games were played at HES, but regulation softball games were, and that ability needed to be preserved. A proposed softball field diagram dated June 29, 2018, shows a field with a 250-foot outfield depth, large enough for adult softball games, which was clearly too large to fit on the site.
This week Parks and Rec Chair Bob O’Shea told the Press that Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association regulations specify a softball outfield depth of 185 to 235 feet, and most towns Harvard plays have an outfield fence at 200 feet. But according to the minutes of the July 5, 2018, School Building Committee meeting, School Superintendent Linda Dwight “noted that sketches provided to the District by Arrowstreet showing a regulation-size softball field on this site indicated that it would not fit.” Those minutes and this reporter’s notes contained no mention of any discussion about the field size used in the diagram or the field size required for high school softball games. The architects recommended the town find another location for the softball field, and the building committee concurred, directing the architects to put the soccer field back into the plan.
