Council Authorizes Application for Recreation Grant to Improve Fields

Council approved a resolution last night that authorizes an application be submit to the Union County Kids Recreation Trust Fund Grant, requesting $125,000 from the county for the borough to make repairs to several baseball, softball and t-ball fields in New Providence.

The application includes a matching dollar amount of $229,625 from the borough, for a total of $354,625 to renovate the infields and fencing of fields, located at six facilities in the borough. Those fields are located at , , , , and , according to the application, which are used by recreation baseball, softball and t-ball programs, the New Providence Police Athletic League, and the high school baseball and softball programs throughout the year.

“From a safety prospective, we thought it would be a good idea to try and increase the height of the fences that go down the first and third base lines for all the little league fields and to also improve the batters box because some of them are pretty old right now,” said Councilman Alan Lesnewich, a member of the capital improvement committee that proposed the borough submit this application.

Lesnewich said Borough Engineer Andrew Hipolit looked at the condition of the infields, which revealed that it was not the lack of clay causing problems, but too much clay.

“Over the years, people just keep dumping clay on them, which is raising the fields up, making drainage a problem and also not having enough sand so the drainage can’t to go through,” Lesnewich said. “So there’s a process now where by you can actually dig the fields up and take out a lot of the clay, and redo it so we thought that would be a good idea.”

According to the grant application, which was assembled by Hipolit, New Providence Recreation Grants and Special Needs Coordinator Maureen Parker, and Borough Administrator Douglas Marvin, the committee evaluated and prioritized the needed field improvements at Lincoln, Hillview, Lions, Grove, Salt Brook School and Allen W. Roberts School.

The priority improvements would “provide safer infield playing surfaces, level the fields so that the infield and outfield elevations are the same, improve drainage and water absorption, protect players on the benches and spectators from stray balls, separate players and spectators from the playing field,” according to the application.

Further explanation for renovating the infields was also included in the grant application, along with the borough’s intent to purchase equipment that would “decompact” the clay during the field grooming routine.

The following chart details the estimated costs to improve fields at the six facilities in New Providence, which is included in the application. The borough is asking the County to grant 35% of the total costs ($125,000) in order to move forward with the renovations.