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01/25/2017 07:15 AMThe game is back on. After the project to renovate the Town Campus baseball field was put on hold last month due to possible safety concerns, the project was once again given the green light at the Board of Finance (BOF) meeting on Jan. 18.
Built in 1998 and used by a variety of baseball teams, the Town Campus baseball field has seen a fair number of seasons. After safety concerns were raised last year, the field was slated for reconstruction in this year’s budget. However, construction on the field was paused on Dec. 21 after members of the Board of Finance (BOF) and members of the baseball community raised concerns over a new, unauthorized direction chosen by First Selectman Tom Banisch for the project.
The project to fix the field was originally approved in last year’s budget under the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for a total of $150,000. The money was targeted for improvements designed to alleviate safety concerns, but Banisch determined that the field posed no safety issues and directed money toward finishing off the complex—purchasing new fencing, bleachers, excavating behind home plate, and purchasing a new backstop.
When members of Madison Baseball said safety issues were not being addressed in the field plan, the BOF decided to hold funding on the project and ask Banisch to have a formal safety assessment done.
At the meeting on Jan. 18, Banisch shared with the board the results of the safety inspection, performed by the town’s insurance carrier, CIRMA.
“They came in and looked over our field and there is no safety issue on our fields,” he said. “This particular field has been in service since 1998 and to date I don’t know of any accidents or problems on it, but we had to look and see if there was really a safety issue or not.”
With a clean inspection bill in hand, the project can now move forward with the hope of completing construction by April 1 for baseball season’s opening day according to Banisch. Madison Baseball President Ken Carone said his group met with Banisch prior to the BOF meeting and agreed on a plan that would satisfy all involved.
“The concerns we had were addressed and there is a plan in place to make the field much safer for the players on that field, so we are pleased with the way that has transpired since our last meeting,” he said.
The renovations for the field match what was originally listed in the CIP last year, with the plan including new six-foot-high perimeter fencing, an upgraded infield, a new backstop, and a place for spectators behind the backstop. Banisch said construction is back on.
“I am trying to take advantage of the warm weather we have these two weeks and make some really progress in getting things done because if we get a deep freeze that will stop everything,” he said.
Banisch said the project will not exceed the $150,000 budget and may even come in under budget. However, the condition of the field was not the only concern brought forward by Madison Baseball, but also the location of the solar panels the town was planning to install along the field. The town is currently working on a project to install solar panels across eight locations in town and Banisch, to avoid controversy, said the town will move the panels off the field and across the driveway on the Town Campus compound.
“We are going to lose a little bit of capacity, but it is something that we think we can make up elsewhere,” he said. “It probably will add a cost to the project because the wooden fencing that we use—we have to put that up on the other side of the road. I think [Town Engineer] Mike [Ott] estimated that cost at around $7,000. I am not happy about that, but I don’t think we can put them there without doing that.”
Banisch said the plan is to have all eight solar projects completed by April 1.
“We are keeping a close eye to make sure it gets done in time,” he said.