‘Serious Field Issues’ In Chatham Township: Committee Member

CHATHAM, NJ — The Chatham Township Committee engaged in a discussion about the maintenance of township fields at its meeting on Tuesday, with one committee member stating there were some “serious field issues” that need to be addressed.

Mayor Ashley Felice said that residents have approached her many times to tell her the township’s fields are not being adequately maintained.

Committee Member Mark Lois — who is on the Chatham Recreation Joint Advisory Committee — said that he has received calls about the quality of the grass at Nash Field, causing difficulties with how baseballs roll.

He said that Esternay Field was also closed for the entire fall season because of quality issues.

“We have some serious field issues,” Lois said.

Lois showed photos of some of the fields as well as tennis courts, during the meeting, which he described as “significant situations.”

He said the baseball diamond at Mountainview field has been plagued with a nest of ground wasps living in the dirt. He also said the diamond is not in good condition.

Lois showed photos of the Colony Recreation Center tennis courts, which had cracking on the surfaces of several of the courts. He said those courts should be patched, filled and repainted. All but two of the courts are prioritized for Colony members, he said.

He showed a photo of Esternay field, with a gate down and padlocked at the entrance. He said it has been closed at times for a season because of field conditions, as well as for safety issues.

Lois also had a photo of the Southern Boulevard School field and said the township should also encourage the School District of the Chathams to adequately maintain its fields.

“They [the fields] should be in reasonable condition,” said Lois.

Felice said she has spoken to the Department of Public Works and other groups to ask what can be done to improve the municipal recreational properties.

“I believe that this is the greatest township in New Jersey and we have the residents that are unparalleled,” said Lois. “I think if we can build consensus that something needs to be done, that we can do it.”

He suggested the Township Committee needs to build an agenda to address the issues.

Administrator Robert Hoffmann said the township is exploring pricing for netting to turn the fields into multi-use fields, for lacrosse, soccer and other youth sports programs. Hoffmann said some groups do not want to use the fields, because of the loss of balls during practices or games.

He also addressed the ground wasps and said programs should schedule around the period of time that the wasps are on the field, as a temporary solution, when the wasps are not on the field in the late summer and in the fall.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to ask our residents to change their schedule of when they want to do sports around a breeding period of ground-nesting wasps,” Felice said.

Hoffmann complimented the DPW’s work on the new split rail fencing at Esternay field.

Lois suggested that fields should begin being fertilized in March to prepare them.

Hoffmann said the tennis courts should be prioritized in 2022, which he said should be moved on “in a quick manner.”

Committee Member Stacy Ewald said the tennis court repairs were a capital project in 2022.

Ewald suggested a broad future discussion about the facilities. Felice said the planning board will be working on a mini master plan about open space and recreation.

Watch the full discussion during the meeting below:

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