Quality Fields for Naugatuck – 3/29/2009

Posted by Bob on March 29, 2009 under Daily Blogs | Read the First Comment

Having recently blogged about my opposition to active recreational fields at Gunntown, I was asked by a voter what I would do to address the fact that there is not enough quality fields to support our youth and adult sports leagues.  Knowing a little about my background is necessary for some context on this issue.

Since I was a small child, sports have been a huge part of my life.  After my parents separated, sports was a way to not only escape from some of the uncertainties of childhood, but also to gain a sense of belonging and friendship by being a part of a team.  While attending Naugatuck High School, I played four years of football and tennis, and one year of basketball for the Greyhounds.  In addition, I played three years in the Naugatuck Basketball Association (formerly the “Friday Night League”), where I have recently completed my fifteenth year as a coach.

Since the birth of my children Ally and Jay, I have coached in Naugatuck Youth Soccer, Union City Little League and the YMCA’s Little Pal basketball.  Every fall Friday night since 2001, I have filmed opponents of the Naugatuck High School football team at every field in the Naugatuck Valley League and beyond.  The only game that I see every year of my beloved Greyhounds is the Thanksgiving Day game.

Much to my Yankee-fan wife’s discontentment, I schedule family events around Red Sox baseball games.  The four season, holidays and birthdays are all intertwined with the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics and Huskies.

If there is anyone who questions my commitment to finding a comprehensive and long-term solution to Naugatuck’s on-going field space crunch, I would ask that they first take a look at my lifetime of support for and belief in the importance of sports in all our lives.

One (1) recreational field at Gunntown will do little to nothing to address our field space problem.  For the sake of argument only, lets remove the environmental concerns and desire by many for a passive recreational park.  Gunntown will never contain a field that will see any significant use be our youth or adult sports teams.

The current proposal for Gunntown contains plans for one (1) field.  The field will not be watered, as their is no city water in that area.  There will be no lights at said field.  Parking will be difficult, and access along winding Gunntown Road will be less than ideal.  If one speaks with the majority of Borough officials, “on” or “off the record”, they will tell you that not only can we not maintain the field, but that there is no intention to use it for more than one season of a few games of sports.  Some will say uniforms and/or practices will never take place there.  The simple truth is that we have talked more about this one project over thirteen years than we will ever play sports at the site.

While Naugatuck has spent enormous time and sizable resources insisting that fields be placed at Gunntown, the better part of a generation of kids, including my own, have never played a down, kicked a ball or hit a pitch at Gunntown.  Instead young athletes are forced to play and practice on fields that contain little grass, much dirt and many rocks.  While other wealthier communities (Middlebury, Cheshire, Prospect) built or improved their natural grass parks and other struggling towns (Waterbury, Wolcott) had the foresight to seek and obtain funding for field turf facilities, Naugatuck has focused a disproportionate share of its time and talents on two (2) or now one (1) field on the outskirts of town with no water, no lights and little to no sustainability.

Current funds designated from land use fees will not be sufficient to provide a quality field that our kids deserve.  In addition, precious hours are being spent attempting to prepare for one (1) field at Gunntown that will not be used for any significant youth sports activities.  In this economic climate, one must ask whether this one (1) field has been worth all the time, energy and resources that have been devoted to it.

I have stated my support for a long-term, field turf solution on many occasions.  Even if Naugatuck comes to the conclusion that it can maintain numerous more natural grass fields, there are other, more prudent options available than Gunntown.  These includes:

• Fawn Meadow (soccer field with parking);
• Applewood Estates II (five to six acres that may allow for parking);
• Country Farms Estates (six to eight acres in a 112 lot subdivision);
• Huntington Hills (nine to ten acres of open space);
• Cross Street School (considering how much land would be available if the old pool was removed and graded);
• Applewood Road (small field possibly for practice); and
• Baummer’s Field (narrow field possibly for practice, another subdivision across the street on Field Street is in the planning process).

While each of these areas has its own concerns, pros and cons, such alternatives should be part of the discussion. 

The hard truth is Naugatuck has no money to expend on any capital projects in this year’s budget.  The state is in arguably worse shape and no one knows for certain how or for what federal stimulus dollars will be spent.  Just because there is $75,000.00 burning a hole in a restricted land use fund does not mean that the Borough needs to spend it on one (1) field that will be extremely difficult to maintain  and will not meet the needs of local athletes.

For too long we have failed to develop a long-term, sustainable plan to provide first-class fields for our kids.  We have lost focus and argued more than acted.  I will take my share of blame for previously supporting fields at Gunntown.  What is needed now, however, is to see the big picture and plan accordingly for our future.  Our kids and taxpayers deserve it.