The Amaral Ball Field Plan

To the Editor,

This is a response to a letter last week from a Nancy Dance on Brushy Hill Road unjustly critical of the Amaral ball field plan by the Director of Parks and Recreation. I am concerned by several points:

A) First of all the money requested for the Amaral ballfield project is for two ball fields, not one.

B) Our agreement with Iroquois (who provided all of the money to purchase the property) allowed us to use only half of the property for active recreation. This area is well away from the wetlands I believe you refer to.

C) What our field planning consultants found was that there was a wet area beneath the surface in the area we wished to allocate for fields. This simply restricted the types of fields we could install. Working with the planners we were able to create an excellent plan for two critically needed baseball fields for our Babe Ruth program.

D) The funds for these fields have nothing to do with the funds to purchase Fairfield Hills. That is a separate decision for the town to make which I hope it does soon approve.

E) The funding for these fields will result in a quality and maintenance friendly project which Newtown’s youth will benefit from for years to come.

F) Though you say you have lived in Newtown since 1975, I would like to remind you that the Parks and Recreation Commission is responsible for this project, not the director. The commission meets every second Tuesday of the month. You are most welcome to meet with us to address any of your concerns.

Larry Haskel, Chairman

Parks and Recreation Commission

Canaan House, Fairfield Circle South, Newtown March 12, 2000