Sports Fields

As I was dropping by town hall this morning I witnessed a crew of landscapers working on Stone Street field. Grass seed was being planted and the soil was being raked.

I don’t know if it was the Rec department doing this or the Parks department, but whoever is responsible… THANK YOU!

While perusing the latest budget requests from the Town of Walpole I noticed something interesting in the Rec Department’s budget… a bandstand for Stone Street field approximated at $50,000. Huh?

Where would a bandstand be situated on Stone Street field?  And how would the bandstand affect youth football practice on that same field? Odd. I need to look into that.

I know the kids love it, but that carnival at Stone St field is a field killer and I hate it. Every year for April vacation the carnival appears on Stone St field, they set up their rides, their games, and their food carts while people trample all over the field. By the end of the week the field does it’s best to pull off an impression of a lunar landscape.

According to the Walpole Times,

“Proceeds from the carnival go toward youth activities in town, such as the two baseball leagues, the Student Trooper Program, and Boys’ and Girls’ State (the study of government).”

I wonder how much of the proceeds are returned to the field for items such as seeding, fertilizer, and general cleanup? I’m sure something is put back into the field, and I’m hesitant to suggest that we rob Peter to pay Paul, but when does Stone St field get a break?

I can tell you that every late summer and early fall, when the youth football program practices on Stone Street field, it’s a mess. The field is rocky, covered in goose droppings, and it’s almost completely covered in weeds, not grass. I’m certain that the carnival doesn’t help this situation.

Maybe we can ask the carnival goers to wear spiked shoes to aerate?! Of course that might make short work of the Moon Walk ride.

Walpole Times quote from http://www.walpoletimes.com/walpole_rocks%20good.htm