May 8, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 9 Midland Park Upgrades to the upper and lower Sunset fields in Midland Park are moving slowly, despite volunteer efforts to get the job done. Resident Scott Meyer, who offered in January to spearhead the project, said that bureaucratic stumbling blocks have impeded a quicker pace, given that once the baseball season got underway, any work on the fields has to wait until it is over. He said he is hopeful, however, that the bulk of the work can be finished by June. Meyer, who owns Fairway Landscap- Progress slow but moving on Sunset fields ing and Garden Center on Goffle Road, said that he along with his crews and volunteer fathers from the Baseball Association Farm Division, rebuilt both the PeeWee and Farm diamonds with new clay and aerated, graded, seeded and fertilized the two Sunset fields in March before the start of the season. Meyer and his crew put in the heavy equipment and materials, and parents Mike Oakes, Rich Casse, Donald Casse, Mike Harpster, Rich Messina and Dave Agrati provided the labor. “With no rain, the fields are struggling,” lamented Meyer. He said he went to the field at 5 one morning to use a lawn sprinkler, but was unsuccessful in turning on the water at the school. Meyer said the soil on the lower field, used for soccer play, is so hard packed that he is waiting for some rainfall to soften it before working on it. The next necessary step, Meyer said, is the installation of a sprinkler system at both fields. The hitch here, however, is that Ridgewood Water has to provide the water connection and either the school or the town has to contract for the work, he said. The cost of the irrigation system is about $7,000, he said, and already he has a contribution from the Midland Park Baseball Association and a commitment from two other groups to help underwrite these costs and other materials. He said he is also hopeful of getting some funds from the borough’s Recreation Department, since Midland Park school board trustee Tim Thomas asked his fellow board members last week to look to address the condition of the high school track. “We have 48 kids on the high school team, and an additional 41 on the middle school roster, which is vastly more student athletes competing in track and field than any other sport. The track is condemned. It’s not right; it’s not fair. We need to do something. Maybe we have to reconsider and do just the track, if not the field,” he said during last week’s board of education meeting. The school facilities referendum defeated last December included $2,331,500 for track and field improvements, $547,000 of which was for the track alone. Thomas noted that many of these athletes have excelled in their field, including recent first and second place honors at the recent Trustee urges track work Jack Yockers Bergen County Relay Meet. “Lisa Carle tied the school record in girls’ high jump, and the Zuidemas are throwing farther than anyone before,” he said. “We provide the necessary fields and facilities for all the other sports and for band activities. We should do the same for these athletes. It’s not fair to the athletes, the coaches or to the parents and fans. To me, it is unacceptable and frankly, it should be somewhat embarrassing for the community. Something needs to be done,” Thomas said after the meeting. Midland Park athletes must always compete elsewhere because league officials have ruled that the Midland Park track is not up to the standards required to host a meet. The track is a cinder track, a system that was common in the 1960s and 1970s. (continued on page 28) 70 percent of the field use is by the town’s recreation programs. Other work planned includes restructuring the fields to make for a smaller PeeWee field and a larger Farm field, and installing fencing to keep balls from rolling down the hill and cars from driving onto the field. Meyer said once the work is done, the field should be allowed to rest for a month or six weeks to allow the seed to get established. He also stressed that whatever work is done needs to be maintained long term, including regular fertilizing. Noting that the school board rents out the fields to forprofit training programs in the off season, he said any money coming in should be put back into the fields. “Every time you use the field, you are wearing it out. If you don’t put the money into maintaining it, don’t allow the overuse,” he said.