Group Forms to Support School Board on Athletic Fields

Other Update: Local Leaders Meet Over Fields

by Judy Silberstein

(September 21, 2006) Municipal and school leaders gathered on Monday, September 18 to discuss the community’s need for more athletic fields. It was the first meeting on the topic since the Mamaroneck Village Board resolved to sue the Mamaroneck School Board over plans to modify the Kemper Memorial Park to make room for a varsity field. (See: Mamk Village Prepares to Sue School Board Over Kemper Park.)

“The meeting was constructive and the group will reconvene in the near future,” read a brief release from Town Supervisor Valerie M. O’Keeffe, Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Philip Trifiletti, Village of Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld, Mamaroneck Schools Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried, and School Board President Cecilia Absher.

The same leaders were among those targeted by email motivated by the newly formed Mamaroneck Fields Committee, a group of around 35 parents with children in district schools, whose first focus is "supporting the School Board's efforts to increase and improve the athletic fields in the district."

“We feel that voice has been relatively quiet for the past three years, waiting for results of the [Kemper] litigation,” said Jim Hanley, a Mamaroneck Village member of the new group who has been involved in youth sports for the past 15 years. A ruling in favor of the School Board’s plan had been upheld by the NY Supreme Court Appellate Division in January. Further appeals by Richard Cantor, grandson of the park’s donors, had been denied by the NY State Court of Appeals on August 31. However, the ruling has not ended opposition by Mr. Cantor or from the Kemper Memorial Preservation Fund on either the legal or public relations fronts. (See: Court of Appeals Backs School Board on Kemper Park.)

The Mamaroneck Fields Committee, in effect, would serve as a counterweight to those opposing the School Board, though its interests go beyond the one field at the high school. “Young families moving to our community from the city wonder why the playgrounds at Chatsworth and Murray are paved,” he said, noting that Central and Hommocks students also play on pavement to avoid damaging the nearby fields. The Hommocks fields, overseen by Mamaroneck Town, have been closed to community play since August 24 and just opened this week, he observed.

“As recently as last weekend, we had lovely weather here and every field but Central School’s was closed,” reported Mr. Hanley. The MHS varsity football team played in Friday’s downpour, but that “ripped up the fields.” The school maintenance crew “worked on the fields all day Saturday” which allowed for some additional play, “but the field was like a skating rink, all muddy and waterlogged.” Ultimately, the girls’ varsity soccer homecoming game was canceled.

The committee is seeking nonprofit status, explained Mr. Hanley. Advocacy will come first, fundraising will follow “when we have consensus among our municipal and school leaders,” he said.

The group has reached out to all the local sports organizations encouraging members to express their views, which explains the sudden volume of email in municipal and district mailboxes. Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld had received 143 messages by Thursday “and they are still coming,” she said.

Any Plans on Fields?

Reached for comment, Town Supervisor Valerie O’Keeffe indicated that she and the other leaders would be discussing ideas from Monday's meeeting with their respective boards before getting back together again in a couple of weeks.

MORE FIELDS AT HARBOR ISLAND? In recent years, Mamaroneck has looked into developing fields at Saxon Woods with help from the Westchester County Legacy program, but that ended up being too costly, Supervisor O’Keeffe explained. Adding fields at Harbor Island is another possibility under consideration in the Village of Mamaroneck. Going forward, Westchester County is willing to help, if workable alternatives can be found, said the supervisor.

TURF AT HOMMOCKS? Another possibility is artificial turf for the Hommocks fields, which could withstand greater use and would allow play to resume more quickly after wet weather. “We spent a lot of money to redo those fields a number of years ago,” said Supervisor O’Keeffe. Until now, adding turf on top was viewed as fiscally and technically ill advised. However, technology has improved and the artificial fields available now are much better and safer than what they were. “They are dramatically better in the past two years,” she said.

TURF AT MHS? Artificial turf for the current high school field has also been discussed in the past, but litigation over the Kemper Park has sidelined that idea and all related development, such as installation of lights to allow for night games.

A plan to rehabilitate and expand fields at the back of Flint Park is still on the Village of Larchmont’s agenda, with an announced start date before spring of 2007. (See: New Field Options for Larchmont?) Since taking office in March 2006, Mayor Feld has advocated rethinking the project in hopes of eking out additional fields.

MORE FIELDS AT FLINT; TURF AT LORENZEN? “We are looking at the small space between Flint fields A and B [at the front of the park] to see if it can be upgraded for use by the junior players,” she said on Thursday. Artificial turf for the back fields is another possibility, although there are concerns there about flooding. Larchmont’s park consultant, Ron Tetelman, was on site this week measuring the spaces at Flint and at Lorenzen, which is also being considered for artificial turf.

Artificial turf requires less day-to-day maintenance, noted the mayor, but the surface would need to be replaced in 8 or 10 years. “We would need a long-term capital fund,” to continue subsidizing the fields, she said.

“The good news is that there seems to be abundant private funding potential,” said the mayor, who has been approached by willing contributors.

Supervisor O'Keeffe voiced similar optimism. "If everyone cooperates, and there is a little bit of flexibility with one another, we can come up with concrete plans for new fields in a couple of months,” she said.

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