Let the games begin

VERNON-Within week, kids will be in Maple Grange Park playing ball on new synthetic turf fields. Last Thursday afternoon, the synthetic turf rolls arrived, and in a few days the gray fields will turn green. Autumn's early nightfall won't drive players off the fields: Lighting especially designed for the site is on order. In June, Vernon awarded Tomco Construction of Wharton a $1 million contract to build the two synthetic-turf, multipurpose ball fields and one natural grass lawn. Situated at the upper end of the site, the two fields run parallel to one another, with the second field being at a slightly higher elevation than the first. The natural-grass field lies below the two, closer to the detention basin and Maple Grange Road. In the sunshine of a sizzling August Friday, Councilman Neil Desmond stood with his colleagues shoe-lace deep in rosy sand and said, "When the first kids play the first game on one of these ball fields, I am going to get down on my knees and kiss the ground." The park has become a second home to Desmond, who has been visiting the site daily since construction began there on June 17. Working closely with Township Manager Don Teolis, Mayor Ira Weiner, and fellow councilmen Phil Weiler and Jeff Patterson, Desmond said he put hundreds of hours into researching every detail of the park plan. "We've worked so hard for over a decade to get where we are now, and it's a pleasure to see things really shaping up," he said. With heavy construction equipment roaring in the background, Desmond, engineer Louis Kneip, planner Fred Suljic and director of community development/assistant manager Gary Gardner assembled with workers and consultants to inspect the completed foundations for the two synthetic-turf ball fields. Stacked alongside the waiting frames were huge carpet rolls of synthetic turf, most of them green, but a few of them orange, yellow or white. The brightly hued turf will be used instead of chalk to mark the lines on the fields for the various sports that will be played there, including football, soccer and lacrosse. Desmond said that installing the turf carpets would be the easy part of the work. The time- and labor-intensive component involved grading the earth and preparing the layers of underlying structures that give the turf its stability and resilience, as well as its drainage capacity. "After a downpour, the fields will be ready for a ballgame within less than an hour," Desmond said. "No more games put off because of fields too soggy to play on." Synthetic turf is practical and economical because it's relatively maintenance free. Although it must be swept and vacuumed, it doesn't have to be mowed, irrigated or fertilized. What's more, Desmond said, geese seem to recognize synthetic turf from afar and give it a wide berth. "The turf also is durable," Desmond added. "The manufacturer guarantees the turf for eight years, but we understand it generally lasts at least 20 years. When the turf gives out, it can be removed like old carpeting, and new turf can be installed directly on the existing underlayment." The new generation of synthetic fields have been enthusiastically received by professional athletes, who have not experienced the injury problems association with the older surfaces, such as Astroturf Preliminary grading on a third, natural-grass field is in progress; however, the field won't be ready for use until next summer at the earliest. A natural-grass field tough enough to withstand heavy use takes about a year to establish, Suljic said. When the fields open in September, players and fans will have to use portable toilets. Plans to build a recreation center were put on hold when bids came in at nearly twice the $250,000 the town had allowed for construction. The money came from a state grant. Assistant Township Manager Gary Gardner said that the township is exploring other options, trying to balance the merits of rebidding the proposal against the merits of seeking ways to get a good building at a far lower cost. Among the options being considered is using volunteer or student labor. Vernon used the funds from a $2.2 million bond voters approved in 1999 to purchase Maple Grange. But in the Nov. 2002 general election, voters defeated by a narrow margin a $1,999,000 bond that would have provided additional money to build a more extensive park. Vernon is funding the construction costs from the proceeds of the township's $804,000 sale of the Black Creek Lenni-Lenape American Indian site to the Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres Program. The site of the former Lenni-Lenape village will be separated from the body of Maple Grange Park by a roadway. "When Maple Grange is completed, Vernon is going to have one of the most attractive parks in the entire county. Our kids are going to have something they can be really proud of, something that's going to last," Desmond concluded. Future plans for Maple Grange include a picnic area, two basketball courts, a playground, and two tennis courts. Also intended are bocce courts and horseshoe pits.