Leaders of a youth baseball club in Bethlehem are blaming town officials of being uncooperative when it comes to dealing with maintenance issues at a town field, but department leaders counter they’ve been working on the issue for some time.
Steve Peterson, president of the Bethlehem Mickey Mantle-Braves Travel Baseball Club, went before the town board on Wednesday, July 24, to seek approval from the town for the club to do drainage work on Field No. 5 in Elm Avenue Park. He said the club was willing to pay for the entirety of the work, but wanted to sit down with town officials to see what they could contribute.
“We’re not trying to be jerks,” said Peterson in a later interview. “We just want to know if there is something on this list the town can handle for us.”
The Bethlehem Braves are a year-round travel baseball team for those in the Bethlehem Central School District ages 13 to 18. The original club ran from 1987 to 2004 and was revived again in 2008.
According to Peterson, the club has been renting Field No. 5 since 2008, and during that time paid for extensive capital improvements. Originally, the club members had wanted to rent a field in South Bethlehem, but Peterson said the town offered them their current location because it was more central for residents
“The town helped us gut the field and put up new fence we bought, but they haven’t helped us with anything else,” claimed Peterson.
The club president said rain has been a problem for the organization from the beginning.
Because of the field’s poor drainage, 42 of the 74 home games so far have been delayed because of the soggy field.
“Once we rent the field, we don’t get any of that money back.” he said.
Peterson said he has a quote from Wayne Site Development Services in Feura Bush for $20,000 to finish the project, with owner Wayne LaChappelle comping the labor if club members offer to do some of the work. He now wants to have a second sit down with the town because the club would like the work to begin in August.
At the meeting, Peterson and other club members sitting in the audience were noticeably angry during the public comment period, when Supervisor John Clarkson would not schedule a time to speak with the group. When Peterson asked what he should do to set up a meeting, Clarkson merely said that Peterson had his number and to “call him.”
Peterson said during the first meeting attended by Director of Parks and Recreation Nan Lanahan and Commissioner of Public Work Erik Deyoe, the club asked if the town could commit to providing dump trucks to haul away some of the material because that is a large portion of the proposed labor cost. According to Peterson, Deyoe said it was a possibility and that some of the leftover dirt could be used by the town.
Lanahan said the town is looking at the proposal submitted by Peterson.
“Erik wants time to evaluate the proposal,” she said. “He needs time to go over it to make sure this is the best solution.”
As of Spotlight press time, Deyoe was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
Clarkson said he knows Peterson and club members are frustrated about the situation, but the town needs to do its “due diligence” and have its own engineers look into the situation.
“We were told if we were to do maintenance, we should do the whole area, not just one field, and that costs money,” he said.
The supervisor also said that at this time of the year, the town’s main focus is on paving. This time of year is also though because of vacations. “We can’t stop everything else and start a project in the middle of the summer simply because it was a wet spring,” he said.
According to Lanahan, her department has already begun to reach out to other renters of the field to see if they can adjust their schedules in case the town proceeds with the plan.
Clarkson said that first, another meeting needs to be held with the Braves to get more details of the proposal.
“My understanding is it isn’t specific what is to be done or how much will be offered,” he said.
Peterson said the club has already raised the money, but he wants to know what items the town would be willing to take over and absorb before committing to an amount.
“I don’t want to give the town $20,000 and have the town internally do $15,000 and get soaked for the rest,” he said.
Clarkson said the town is willing to work with the organization, but more time may be needed then what is expected.
“These are town-owned lands we are liable for. We won’t go forward unless we know this plan is right for us,” he said. “And drainage projects are big projects. Do them wrong, and it’s not good. We need to make sure this project is done properly for all of the field’s users.”