Corrected and updated October 26, 2019
Parks and Recreation commissioners voted Monday night to spend most of the money left in their fields and commons budget for a study of the condition of the town’s athletic fields.
By a 3-0 vote, with field liaison Joe Reynolds absent, the commissioners agreed to spend up to $9,600 to study the conditions of the Bromfield (Massachusetts Avenue) field hockey and girls lacrosse field; the two Charlie Waite fields on Lancaster County Road; the three fields at Depot Road; and the Harvard Park/McCurdy Track. If the entire $9,600 is expended, Parks and Rec will be left with no money for spring maintenance, making passage of Special Town Meeting Article 12’s request for additional money crucial to getting work done then.
The amount approved by the commission Monday night is an estimate provided to Reynolds by the Stantec Sports Group—a Boston-based organization that provides field planning services—to assess the condition of Harvard’s fields. The company recently completed a similar survey for the town of Lincoln and proposes to document the size, potential for expansion, and condition of each Harvard field, including the condition of its turf and soil. Stantec would sample each field’s topsoil, testing for particle size, soil classification, and organic matter. But before the commission can award a contract, state law requires it to first obtain two additional quotes.
Arguing for the study, Parks and Rec Chair Doug Thornton said that a knowledge of field conditions would be crucial to developing a spring maintenance plan. The commissioners recently approved a policy that requires them to apportion their maintenance spending according to the relative needs of each field. Ken Hoggins, a girls lacrosse parent who was present at the meeting, said the commission could argue that with a report, Parks and Rec will be armed with information on how to properly spend the additional $15,000 the commission is requesting at Special Town Meeting (see Article 12 in the 2019 Special Town Meeting Warrant in Plain English.) “The report will tell us what our biggest needs are,” he said.
However, the vote is contrary to the position of the Finance Committee, which opposes handing Parks and Rec additional money for spring maintenance. And at its Oct. 22 meeting the Select Board said it would have liked the commission to ask for money for the study at Special Town Meeting instead of using field maintenance money for it, but it’s too late for that. Board members expressed hope that Parks and Rec would pull the article and add an article for a field study in the warrant for spring Town Meeting.
The commission’s vote Monday also surprised de facto Athletic Field Planning Subcommittee Chair Dan Daly. That committee, appointed by Parks and Rec, has been at work for more than a year collecting information that a field planner like Stantec would provide. “It’s duplicative,” Daly told the Press.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected and updated. The original story cited warrant Article 13 as the one asking for funds; the correct one is Article 12.
