Edgemont Friends Make Case for New Field House Roof

Members of the Friends of Edgemont Park told the Montclair Council a new roof for the park field house is a necessity, not an improvement at Tuesday night’s council conference meeting. 

Montclair resident Tom Nussbaum, a member of the park preservation group, showed the governing body photographs of the decaying roof and described the “desperate need” to replace it.

“It’s either pay now or pay later and the pay later is going to be significantly worse,” Friends of Edgemont Park member William Hobbie told the council. “It’s really not an improvement. It’s a necessity.”

An Eagle Scout project currently taking place at the field house was also cited as a reason to act sooner than later.

Boy Scout Justin Murphy is leading a crew of workers to paint the interior of the field house and install cabinets to store furniture securely. Murphy estimates 120 volunteer man hours went into the project.

“It would almost be like a waste, putting all this work into it,” the 17-year-old Montclair High School student said about not replacing the roof.

The council agreed to add the $29,000 cost of the roof to a list of potential capital improvement projects.

Town Manager Marc Dashield said he has compiled a request list of about $5 million in capital improvements that will need to be paired down to a targeted $3.6 million.

Fourth Ward Councilwoman Renee Baskervile asked whether it was possible to add fieldhouses at other parks to the slate of capital projects. Baskerville said the council should consider the needs of other parks, particularly those where restrooms have been removed from field houses.

"We should really think in terms of human decency," Baskerville said.

Dashield said those bathrooms were removed years ago due to safety issues since the parks are no longer attended. 

"Going to each field house is not in the plan," Dashield said, adding that the council could consider rotating through field houses the way it does with tennis courts and town pools. 

The Edgemont Park field house is used by various members of the community. It is the weekly meeting place for a folk dancing group and teen musicians in Terry's Serendipity Café, the site of a semi-annual rabies fair, the annual environmental fair, Memorial Day and Fourth of July ceremonies, and a polling place.

The council also discussed the possibility of creating food concessions at the Edgemont field house as a way to raise revenue for future maintenance projects.