49°
NORTHBRIDGE, Mass. – A new wrinkle was added to the Northbridge’s athletic field woes at a meeting of the Board of Selectmen on Monday night. John Berkowitz, representing the Oliver Ashton American Legion Post, said the property may be sold.
The town has had free use of fields and a parking lot owned by the legion on Church Street in Rockdale. Little League and Pop Warner football games have been played there for many years.
The legion, with its aging membership, is having financial difficulties, Berkowitz said. He asked the town to sign a six-month lease for the fields at a cost of $7,500. “Kids use the fields; they use our facilities. We just can’t be Santa Claus for the town anymore,’’ Berkowitz said.
The money could be appropriated but not until October at the Fall Annual Town Meeting, Town Manager Theodore Kozak said.
But the legion might not survive that long, Berkowitz said. “Things are tough. Two Realtors are very interested. ... If that’s the way we have to go, we may not have a choice,’’ he said.
The town is already short on athletic field space, Selectman James Marzec said. “If they take those fields offline now, what are we going to do? It will make an already bad situation worse. I would like to find the money now,’’ he said.
“I don’t see the town turning this down,’’ Selectman Thomas Melia said, saying he was unhappy that the decision can’t be made until Town Meeting. “You people have been donating to the town of Northbridge year after year. It’s about time the town gives back to you.’’
Marzec, appointed Monday night to represent the Board of Selectmen on a newly formed Ad Hoc Athletic Field Committee, said the legion fields will be among the issues addressed at the committee's first meeting, which has yet to be scheduled.
Also named to that committee were Northbridge High School Athletic Director Alan Richards, DPW Director James Shuris, School Facilities Director Paul Halacy, Playground and Recreation Commission member Robert Parker, and Whitinsville Christian School Athletic Director Leonard Krygsman.
Comments (8)
ok, so let me get this right, the majority of the fields are on "Foundation" property, the Legion wants to charge the town $7500.00 for use of the parking lot and a portion of the back field for 6 months? That is how the lease would need to read if there are indeed two separate leases we are talking about?
I agree with our BOS when they mentioned $5000-$6000 dollars out of an almost $37 Million Annual Town Budget is not an unreasonable amount of compensation to help in paying for the fields, etc,etc,.
I think the 'bigger picture' is we are doing this for our Children, & Town, and if not for our Children & Town, then the questioned should be asked "why not"?
It appears the Town has no problem in taking funds out of the Towns Employee Health Insurance Stabilization Account for Town needs. Plus do we not have close to $2 Million Dollars in the Town Stabilization account? Why not ask our Town Counsel if the Town may have any legal option right now to pay the suggestive $5000-$6000 dollars to the American Legion.
Then lets come up with a comprehensive plan to address this matter that all party's may accept, so we may not have to revisit it every year.
As usual, the remarks made by '22fastball' are so far off base he's out! The NJBL think that they own the fields because they use them and do a little upkeep, very little! That field was built through the donation from a generous individual who lived in Rockdale. The deed states that any improvements and/or buildings become the ownership of the Rockdale Foundation. The concession stand was never authorized to be built where it now stands. It was suppose to be built behind the Legion Post along the 1st base side of the field. The entire body of the Legion did not vote to authorize the construction as it was only one member who did in what he thought was in the best interest of everyone. On another fact, the League President has still not shown the documentation to the members of the post or the Recreation Commission. As for any repairs to the Legion, the Post is still waiting on promises from the President to repair the siding which still sits in the concession storage area. As for the fields being mowed, that is handled by the Highway Department which also includes the Memorial area. The Legion Post is not threatening to take away the fields because they are controlled by the Rockdale Foundation. There are two separate lease agreements that have to be agreed upon because the Foundation and the Legion Post are separate entities. The Legion Post has a portion of a baseball diamond on it's property because when it was built, it was allowed in order to provide a safe left field area for the players and spectators that utilize the field. This was in part because of the deep embankment that borders the area next to the Blackstone River. As for making a parking lot on the field, the Rockdale Foundation would have to grant their approval but doing so would take away the small baseball diamond the NJBL put in illegally without the written permission from the foundation and then don't forget, it then becomes the property of the Foundation.
As president of Northbridge Junior Baseball, I feel that I should answer to some of the comments made against myself and against our league. I will admit to my shortcomings, especially promising to help complete the re-siding of the Legion building that I started a couple of years ago. I tend to believe that I have the time to accomplish many things and simply don't have the time (ask my poor wife!!). I will, however, stand by what I thought was a pretty solid relationship that we have had with the Legion and the Rockdale Foundation.
I have posted a copy of the agreement between our league and Harry Berkowitz who signed as an officer of the Rockdale Foundation on our website www.northbridgebaseball.com under the documents tab. This will show that we had the approval of the foundation and were/are fully aware that the building is on Rockdale Foundation land and is their property. We had hoped by now to have restrooms to be able to be used by both our league and by the Legion for any outdoor functions they may have. Unfortunately we have not been able to raise the funds necessary to do so as of yet.
We are fully aware of the financial problems that the Legion has been encountering. We hold a fundraiser that we end up donating a couple hundred dollars each year to the Legion. We have helped sell raffle tickets for them for the last couple of years to help raise funds. Members of our league including myself have rented the hall instead of going elsewhere to try to help them out as well. This year, we have given them $1,700 of our money to allow them to pay bills and maintain insurance in order to remain open and be able to rent their space for additional income.
We have always been appreciative of the Legion and the Rockdale Foundation. Their efforts to allow the youth of our town to use their land have been tremendous! I just felt it was necessary to clear the air so that people don't believe we simply use the fields and don't care or try to give back to the great group of veterans that fought for our right to be able to play baseball and live our lives as freely as we do! Unless I am missing something, I think we have a great relationship with the Legion and hope to continue it for a long, long time.
Thank you,
Rob Fraser
President
Northbridge Junior Baseball League
I love how these guys just show up at a selectmen meeting and threaten the town. The selectmen/town manager need to do a little research and then call their bluff.
They do not own or control the usage of the Rockdale fields. These fields were donated to the town a long time ago by the Whitin family. The deed states that the fields were to be used for youth recreational purposes and was to be controlled by the non-profit Rockdale Foundation. Around 2004 or so the Rockdale Foundation ceded control or these fields to the Northbridge Parks and Rec.
The members who run the American legion have been threatening the Northbridge Junior League Baseball for years with blocking access, making the field for Legion baseball only etc. They even had the audacity to show up at a P&R meeting earlier this year stating that NJLB did not have permission to build a snack bar or bathroom facility on that property. Thankfully the league president showed them a written document that they themselves signed. The league has performed much work for them in the last 10 years; paying to have the area around the memorial mowed, rebuilding roofs and siding on the building and holding fundraisers for them. This is how they respond? By threatening to take fields away from kids?
The selectment should tell them to sell. There are so many different deeds, surveys and documents that they will be in litigation for years. If they want to block access to their parking lot the town can put a new gate in the fence on Church Ave and park cars on the grass.
Good idea, or seeing that the Legion baseball team has used (monopolized) the Middle School Field for years we could charge them to use it and maybe make it a wash. Or they could move to their own fields and free up the Middle School Field.
Why doesn't the Town just buy the VFW property and fields outright and construct a new DPW facility there?
There is plenty of room for the DPW to exist and for the fields to be used as well. When the fields are in use usually would coincide with when the DPW wouldn't be in use. It works well in Uxbridge.
Great idea!!! I totally agree with you Just A Guy!