What the school fields did for their summer vacation

Well, families?  Which field will it be?

In “Read more” see Joe Gramando’s short- and long-term field plans and slide show of field work
August 13, 2010
by Christine Yeres

Joe Gramando, Director of Facilities for the Chappaqua Central School District, is working to make his dream come true:  to give fields time-off to rest and recuperate. Fields B and C, the soccer-lacrosse game fields alongside the senior parking lot have been off-limits this summer and they look good and grassy.  They reopen August 23, but, says Gramando, in the district’s long-range plan, “The only way to really grow grass that will be strong enough to withstand our current usage is to have one field per year closed and rested for a full year.  If this doesn’t happen, the goal creases and centers for these fields will never have grass,” explained Gramando.  “We’ll need everybody’s cooperation to do that.”

Gramando and the board of ed’s “facilities committee,” Jeffrey Mester and newly-elected board member Randy Katchis, recently toured the grassy assets at Horace Greeley High School and Seven Bridges Middle School, and, says Gramando, they look forward to meeting with what the Recreation Department calls “The Five Families”—AYSO, CYSC, Lacrosse, Softball and Baseball, and Basketball —“get on the same page” and agree on one field per year to put out of play.

“We’ve put together a multi-year plan to work on all the fields—and I’ll do all of it within the operating budget.  Depending on how the budget goes from year to year, the plan may take a little longer or a little shorter, or we might look to some of the clubs to help raise some money to get more done.” 

Bell is a hard case, but Westorchard has possibilities

One of the toughest cases is Bell.  “Fields A and B have such bad soil that we will not be doing any work on them,” explained Gramando. “They would need approximately $500,000 worth of work to make them viable fields.”  But Recreation Department Supervisor Robert Snyder and Gramando have discussed the possibility of collaborating on getting the Westorchard field into playable shape. (The three elementary fields are not used for school athletics and are therefore considered to be in good enough shape for the use they are put to for the elementary populations.) 

The New Castle town board members, under steady pressure from town sports groups to provide ever more fields, have shown interest, but are doubtful that town workers’ time spent on school fields can be justified in the town’s own budget.  For his part, Gramando says that if the town would help with labor or supplies to restore the Westorchard field, he would consider asking the board of education to allow him to treat the field subsequently under his preventive maintenance program, which might cost as much as $5,000 yearly for Westorchard, he estimated. 

The town pays the school district around $80,000 per year for field rental, and although the use of the money is not easy to attribute to one particular field or another, Gramando says that if he were to cost out all the school district does to make possible the use of school fields, the tab would be much more than the $80,000. 

Below are Gramando’s short- and long-range plans for the district’s fields.

Field restorations

JV Softball field DONE

 
Cut out 4 feet of the infield grass. 
Add new SOD to removed grass area.
Drag field and add 6 inches of new clay. 
Estimated cost was $16,000; staff did it, in-house, for $7,000.

Varsity baseball field IN PROGRESS

Cut out 4 feet of infield grass and grass on baselines and install new SOD in its place.  In large first and third base clay area. Add in new clay to the entire infield. Repair pitchers mound and batters box (add in clay bricks) Estimated cost $25,000.  Install new backstop (right now the old one is gone, the new one arrives in two weeks) and right and left fences in front of dugout area.  Estimate $23,200.  Dugouts and storage $50,000.00.  Install outfield right field fence, $8,000. 

 

Competition field IN PROGRESS

Fill in holes over seed and water water all summer (within maintenance contract).
Cut out center of field, bring in new top soil and grade the field.

 

Field B and C

Fill holes and over seed.  Cost will be in our regular yearly maintenance work.
Continue early fall, late fall, winter and spring maintenance. 
Rest fields to grow healthy grass.

Varsity Softball Field NEXT SUMMER

Cut out 4 feet of the infield grass. 
Add new SOD to removed grass area.
Drag field and add 6 inches of new clay. 
Estimated cost is $16,000. 

 

JV baseball field NEXT SUMMER

Cut out 4 feet of infield grass and grass on baselines; 
Install new SOD in its place.
In large first and third base add clay.
Add in new clay to the entire infield.
Repair pitchers mound and batters box (add in clay bricks).
Estimated cost $10,000. 
Build storage building. $15,000.

The Future

Multi-Year Plan for Field Restoration and Maintenance

Fields Used for School District Teams and Maintained by the Facilities Department

 

High School Fields

:
 
Competition, Field B, Field C, Girls varsity softball, Girls J V softball, Boys varsity baseball, Boys J V baseball, field hockey and Girls soccer.

Seven Bridges Fields

, Total of Two Fields:                                                             

Upper field and lower field

Preventive Maintenance:

Each year the fields listed above will receive five preventive maintenance visits by an outside contractor.  This plan includes aeration, split seeding, over seeding, fertilization, organic weed-killing herbicides and winterization.

In between the five visits from the contractor, our staff will seed bare spots on the fields, fill in holes, add clay, drag the infields and line each field for school teams. 

This plan over time will build strong root growth and better drainage.  Each year we will see improvements. 

The cost for preventive maintenance is $80,000 per year. 

Field Restoration NeededCompetition field

: 

Drainage issues on home team side of field.                                             
Hardy grass is needed to be grown in the middle of the field or add new SOD.
Create storage under bleachers by fencing in under the bleachers 200 linear feet.
Resurface the track. 
Purchase mat for players to walk on while crossing track with cleats.

Field B and C

: 

Install drainage in the corner of field C.                                           
Grow better hardier grass in goal creases and center of the field.                                         
Install better netting behind goal areas. 
Add more bleachers.                                     

Barn fields

: 

In great shape.  Continue to maintain the fields through our Preventive Maintenance program.

Softball Fields

: 

Repair infields by cutting the infield grass back, install new SOD in that section and add new clay. 
Install cement pad for bench area. 
Install covered dugouts on varsity field. 

Varsity baseball field

: 

Repair infield by adding clay, cutting the lip of the grass infield and install new SOD. 
Rebuild the pitchers mound. 
Replace backstop and fences on both sides. 
The backstop will be moved back 18 feet (it’s too close now to attract sectional play).
Install a right field fence. 
Install better bleachers.

J.V. baseball field

: 

Repair infield by adding clay, cutting the lip of the grass infield and install new SOD. 
Rebuild pitchers mound. 
Replace backstop and fences on both sides. 
Install better bleachers. 
Build storage shed.

Seven Bridges upper and lower fields

: 

Continue preventive maintenance program. 
Install bleachers.

Fields that the district does not use but are used by the town recreation programs

:

Bell fields

:  A, B, and C

Field C:

Repair drainage, cut in base lines and add clay. 
Build a pitchers mound and install new backstop.

Fields A and B have such bad soil that we will not be doing any work on them. 
These fields would need approximately $500,000 worth of work to make them viable fields. 

Westorchard Field

:

Fill in all holes, rototill center of the field and seed. 
Close the field for one year. 
Install new chain link fence at the playground side of the field.

Five year plan to maintain and repair fields

Continue Preventive Maintenance at $80,000 per year. 
Purchase additional turf blankets each year cost.
Budget additional funds each year for field renovations.

Year One

:

Focus on renovations of the two baseball fields and both softball fields. 
Cutting lips of the infield, installing SOD in those areas and rebuild pitchers mound. 
Install new backstop on Varsity field. 

Year Two

:

Install dugouts on varsity baseball fields. 
Close Field C for restoration and rest. 
Replace JV baseball field backstop.

Year Three

:

Install bathrooms at Barn fields. 
Close Field B for restorations and rest. 
Install dugouts at varsity softball field. 
Restore running track surface.

Year Four

:

Close lower fields at Seven Bridges for restoration and rest. 
Build storage area for JV baseball field at high school. 
Replace backstop at Bell Field C. 

Year Five

:

Close upper field at Seven Bridges for restoration and rest. 
Replace clay on baseball and softball fields. 
Install SOD on center for competition field. 
Resurface tennis courts.

Gramando in his office at the pole barn.