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05/23/2017 12:00 AMThe extensive improvements at the town campus baseball were envisioned to build a so-called field of dreams, but financial realities are starting to eat away at budget desires. At the Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on May 22, the board voted to approve a $23,000 special appropriation to cover potential project overages.
Built in 1998 and used by a variety of baseball teams including Daniel Hand High School, Madison Travel Tigers, Madison American Legion, Babe Ruth, and Walter C. Polson Middle School, 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, but while the initial intention for the project may have been clear, priorities and process became muddled.
The project to fix the field was formally approved in last year’s budget under the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for a total of $150,000 after being initially reduced to $30,000 and then restored to $150,000 for improvements designed to alleviate safety concerns.
First Selectman Tom Banisch, who formerly chaired the Beach & Recreation Commission and served for 15 years as the president of Madison Little League, later determined the field posed no safety issues and directed the funds toward finishing off the field complex. That move raised red flags among members of various Madison baseball leagues and the Board of Finance (BOF) held funding on the project until a formal safety assessment was completed.
In January of this year, Banisch presented the BOF with results of the safety inspection, performed by the town’s insurance carrier, CIRMA, supporting his initial claim that the field posed no safety concerns. With a clean inspection bill in hand, the project moved forward with the initial goal of completing construction by April 1. However, by mid-April the field wasn’t completed and the project bill was quickly approaching the $150,000 cap.
Public conversations began over how the project expenses racked up and the possibility of eliminating some project items to keep everything under budget. By May 1, $147,990 had been spent on the project as board members and interested parties continued to debate specific items and the timeline. While the May 1 total showed the project still under budget, at the May 17 BOF meeting, the project financial summary totaled $169,726, which includes some anticipated spending.
Securing Future Funding
At the May 17 BOF meeting, Banisch stood by his assertion that the project will come in within the allocated budget.
Banisch said there are items on the project list, including the dugouts, for which he hopes to have the construction labor donated; things like the field walkway could be eliminated; and certain items can be done in-house rather than contracted out to keep the project on budget and eliminate any need for a special appropriation.
“If all those numbers are good and nothing else pops up as it has throughout this project, I am very confident that we can do it,” he said.
As the dollars start to add up, however, the BOF decided to leave $23,000 in the contingency fund to be used for the project if needed.
At the May 22 BOS meeting, which was heavily attended by members of various baseball teams in town, selectmen discussed the merits and process for a special appropriation. Looking at the project item list, they found items for which no formal contracts have yet been signed including infield materials, screening and spreading of topsoil, and construction of the dugouts, make up a good portion of the special appropriation amount.
Selectman Bob Hale said he was uncomfortable authorizing a special appropriation without contracts in hand for those items, but Director of Engineering Mike Ott said three bids were acquired for all of those items, he picked the lowest bidder, and added the cost estimate to the project list.
After listening to Ott’s process, Selectman Al Goldberg said he is comfortable with authorizing a special appropriation.
“I think what Mike [Ott] is trying to tell us is he has three bids for each of the three items that need to be done and that the BOF looked at that and said $23,000 is an approximate number that would cover those three contracts,” he said. “Now I think it is our turn if we wish to follow the BOF’s lead and take the special appropriation. We don’t have to spend a nickel of it if other parts of the project come in under what we think.”
If funds left in contingency are not spent by the end of the fiscal year (June 30), the money rolls back into the undesignated fund balance. With some of the field project work not scheduled until the fall, by moving the contingency funds into the baseball project account in the CIP, the funds will not roll back into the undesignated fund balance at the end of the year, saving them for the project if needed.
“We know the work is not going to get done before the fiscal year, so we are trying to encumber the money so that it doesn’t roll over into the general fund,” said Selectman Bruce Wilson.
Banisch said even with the money in the baseball account it does not mean the town has to use the money.
“My only problem with this is I don’t like going over budget on things and I think we need to be a lot sharper with what we do from now on,” he said. “For us to be well over $150,000 is totally unacceptable.”
The board voted 4-1 with Hale voting against to request the special appropriation from the BOF.
An Uncertain Opening
However, even with more money in the project account, the timeline for finishing the project is still uncertain.
Selectman Scott Murphy said after a Fields Commission meeting and speaking with members of the grounds crew, the proposed June 2 opening date of the field is looking less and less likely.
At the meeting, members of various Madison baseball leagues raised concerns over the final timeline. Madison Baseball President Ken Carone said he is thankful for the special appropriation, but said while he understands that the grounds crew is working hard on the field, with teams waiting to play, he wants to know when the field will be ready.
“We are looking for a discussion now with your help and input where we can get an idea of when we can open this field,” Carone said to the selectmen. “Tom [Banisch] I know you have been trying your best to get this field open…I know you have the best interest for these fields. There are just four teams looking to play on that field and it is going to slip away if we don’t really press to move this forward.”
Banisch asked Carone if teams are using the field at the Country School, which Banisch secured for use during construction. Carone said that field has been used once, but is designed as a softball field and is not ideal for play. Carone said the baseball community is still committed to helping keep the project close to budget and wants to keep the focus on the Town Campus field.
“We have two more teams starting practice next week that will be using that field as their home field,” he said. “We just don’t want to see this continue to be put off.”
Parent Katy Wallace said she and other parents want to see the field ready for the summer season so that teams don’t have to constantly play away games.
“I know there is all kind of stuff that comes up, but please make this happen because the summer season, they have a really aggressive schedule and we are really hoping that we don’t have to travel the whole summer,” she said. “It would be really nice to call Town Campus and Polson Middle School home for these kids.”
Selectmen discussed the effect weather and manpower has had on the construction timeline. While no official completion date was given, Banisch said he would speak with the grounds crew and get an updated timeline as soon as possible.
At the BOF meeting, Banisch said the project construction is still moving along well.
“It looks like we are getting there,” he said. “The warning track is in, the fence is up, and the tension netting system is getting done. The drainage is the last big item and they are working on that.”