Steve,
since you are correct on a fact that you are not a professional, let's not speculate that paving over Cricket Field will save Needham 1 mil. dollars !
If you want to be " generous" with tax payers money and spent $ 80 K, ....well it is your right I guess.
But, one thing I will ask you to do- do not write about something you do not know !!! I do not have kids walking to school , therefor your comment on proving some kind of point is very complicated ....I do not know what point you are proving and to whom ! One thing I do know is that Cricket Field is under a jurisdiction of Parks and Recreations and they do nor wish to give it up. Taking it from them and twisting arms may raise some legal issues. As a wise selectmen said... " It is time to end the pain ". This " pissing contest" is simply embarrassing and divides people of Needham instead of uniting them. Hope, people will be reasonable in their final decision and be on time for State funding which would realistically benefit Hillside school.
Brad - 11 years ago
Beth,
The DeFazio area on the list is the large area to the right that is the underused parking area. The actual fields at DeFazio are not "in play" here.
Beth - 11 years ago
Cricket Supporters.... if this is your stance why do you not include save DeFazio? Defazio is on the list to be considered and serves the same purpose for our community! Does it not matter because it is not in your backyard?
Steve - 11 years ago
We need the feasibility study to answer all the questions in these comments. No one commenting here has claimed to be a professional. What if building on Cricket would save the tax payers 10 million? Would that be worth the 80K it takes to study it? I would guess most of the town would say yes. And yes, Inga we all understand that your neighborhood's lack of empathy comes from the fact that your children have a nice new school paid for by the rest of the town that they can walk to already. But thanks for reinforcing that point.
Inga - 11 years ago
It is amazing how ignorant people are sometimes...
Is this a fight just for a purpose of having a fight ? If not, let's look at some hard facts !
Never mind there is a sentimenthal value of people that are a grandparents now... remember themselves being kids and playing there , obviousely people pushing this iwssue do not care about families, values, memories. The do not care about a green space either. But other than 1 more field, Needham hardly has any of a green space left. Let's look at a practical side of it . Do you think doing a research is free ??? You are wrong ! Look at numbers of fisability study , they pay $ 50- 80 K for each project. Do you think it comes out of some nice guy pocket ? No, it is from yours ! It is YOUR TAX money !!! And, total waste of it....Next, let's look at the area. Oops, there is an elementary school right there already. All families can walk , or have a short bus ride. Plenty of school buses to create more morning traffic..., but again- it is part of life. How crazy it would be to add one more school right there, more busses on 2 streets that can hardly handle traffic as it is and have poor parents shlep their kids from another part of town and start reorginizing the whole district again. What an absurd idea ! More Needham money wasted !!! Then, construction on a totally wrong site. How can a school be built on a field that has a flooding problem? Cricket is a filled in swamp with many drainage issues. During the Labor Day weekend rainstorm the field was completely flooded. During the summer there is always sand left in the parking area for the puddles on the filed. All the house around have flooding in a bsmts. at some point due to a high water table...
Yes, it has been used all year round for kids, games , etc. ...., but this is a MAXIMUM you can possibly get out of that space already !
Cricket Field is used by many groups of all ages year round. Continuing to include Cricket as a site for a new Hillside School will delay the state funding process and the needed reconstruction of the Hillside School. The school has huge chank of land in a right location already and families enjoed it for a long time. Renovation is usually a smarter and less expansive way to go.
Cricket Field was supposed to be removed from discussion long time ago ! People in Town Hall pushing for it clearly do not care and not a Needham Residents themselves, but people living in the area and taking pride in their home town have an obligation to do the right thing and preserve the neighborhood for future generations.
Leave a Comment
Meri - 11 years ago
It is very important that the field is under the jurisdiction of Park and Rec. Astute residents watching this play out will understand that if Cricket can be cannibalized, their neighborhood field may be next. The line in the sand is correct. Wresting a field from Park and Rec is not a precedent we should allow. Many possible future town projects may seem more important than any one green space, but with that view, there would be no green spaces left. In fact, the State of Massachusetts understands this. That is why there is a law that towns must get state approval to repurpose fields. The selectmen aren't anti-child, they understand that they don't want to tangle with the state. That would be a waste of time and money. Furthermore, those who argue that a Hillside field site would be larger than Cricket fail to understand that there is already green space at Hillside. So, the town might gain green square footage, but the count of green spaces would go down by one. Picture if all the town's green space were in one place, but the same total square footage as now. Quality of life in town would be worse. There is actual benefit to having green spaces spread out. That is what Park and Rec understands, that is what the State understands, and that is what the Selectmen understand.
Liz - 11 years ago
The upcoming vote is not about whether or not to build on Cricket Field, but whether or not to include it in a feasibility study. I do not understand why we would take this off the table without looking into it. What if it was less costly to deal with so called drainage issues then to deal with the environmental issues at the current Hillside location? But this is not for us to determine, but rather for professionals to determine. The argument about green space also makes no sense to me as green space would be gained if Hillside was moved to Cricket Field. It costs nobody and changes nothing by allowing a feasibility study to take place at all possible locations for a new school including Cricket Field.
David - 11 years ago
I am just reading everyone's comments. You all make valid points as to why both hillside and cricket may be the better option long term. I personally have no idea which site would be a better alternative. That being said, I have not heard one good reason as to why cricket should not be studied as an option. Let the experts evaluate the facts and the proposed costs and then we can all make an educated decision. The Save Cricket contingent has drawn a line in the sand and refuses to have an open dialogue - they belong in Washington!!!
Christine - 11 years ago
Jim -- you are very misinformed. "A fine site"? It's mainly wetlands and has toxic soil.
Carolyn -- the current Hillside site could also be fields for the town to use. In fact, the green space would be larger than Cricket Field. As for it being "under jurisdiction of Parks and Rec", perhaps its time for that board to consider the needs of the town's children, instead of a few selfish abutters of Cricket Field.
It's high time Needham officials wake up and realize we have a big over crowding problem at our schools. With all the new construction it is only getting worse every year.
What I would like to know is why our Town Manager doesn't provide a long term vision for our school building plans. Wasn't that job created so our town would have a strategic long-range vision?
Jim - 11 years ago
The site of the present Hillside school is fine for a new school -- no need to destro a perfectly nice open space.
Jamie - 11 years ago
What are the other options the town is looking at for spots?
Carolyn - 11 years ago
Cricket Field is used by many groups of all ages year round. It is not large enough to support a proposed school with its parking spaces and the proposed fields and playground. More importantly, it is under the jurisdiction of the Park and Recreation Committee which has been adamant about not being willing to give it up. Continuing to include Cricket as a site for a new Hillside School will delay the state funding process and the needed reconstruction of the Hillside School.
Susan - 11 years ago
How can a school be built on a field that has a flooding problem? Cricket is a filled in swamp with many drainage issues. During the Laborday weekend rainstorm the field was completely flooded. During the summer there is always sand left in the parking area for the puddles on the filed.
Steve,
since you are correct on a fact that you are not a professional, let's not speculate that paving over Cricket Field will save Needham 1 mil. dollars !
If you want to be " generous" with tax payers money and spent $ 80 K, ....well it is your right I guess.
But, one thing I will ask you to do- do not write about something you do not know !!! I do not have kids walking to school , therefor your comment on proving some kind of point is very complicated ....I do not know what point you are proving and to whom ! One thing I do know is that Cricket Field is under a jurisdiction of Parks and Recreations and they do nor wish to give it up. Taking it from them and twisting arms may raise some legal issues. As a wise selectmen said... " It is time to end the pain ". This " pissing contest" is simply embarrassing and divides people of Needham instead of uniting them. Hope, people will be reasonable in their final decision and be on time for State funding which would realistically benefit Hillside school.
Beth,
The DeFazio area on the list is the large area to the right that is the underused parking area. The actual fields at DeFazio are not "in play" here.
Cricket Supporters.... if this is your stance why do you not include save DeFazio? Defazio is on the list to be considered and serves the same purpose for our community! Does it not matter because it is not in your backyard?
We need the feasibility study to answer all the questions in these comments. No one commenting here has claimed to be a professional. What if building on Cricket would save the tax payers 10 million? Would that be worth the 80K it takes to study it? I would guess most of the town would say yes. And yes, Inga we all understand that your neighborhood's lack of empathy comes from the fact that your children have a nice new school paid for by the rest of the town that they can walk to already. But thanks for reinforcing that point.
It is amazing how ignorant people are sometimes...
Is this a fight just for a purpose of having a fight ? If not, let's look at some hard facts !
Never mind there is a sentimenthal value of people that are a grandparents now... remember themselves being kids and playing there , obviousely people pushing this iwssue do not care about families, values, memories. The do not care about a green space either. But other than 1 more field, Needham hardly has any of a green space left. Let's look at a practical side of it . Do you think doing a research is free ??? You are wrong ! Look at numbers of fisability study , they pay $ 50- 80 K for each project. Do you think it comes out of some nice guy pocket ? No, it is from yours ! It is YOUR TAX money !!! And, total waste of it....Next, let's look at the area. Oops, there is an elementary school right there already. All families can walk , or have a short bus ride. Plenty of school buses to create more morning traffic..., but again- it is part of life. How crazy it would be to add one more school right there, more busses on 2 streets that can hardly handle traffic as it is and have poor parents shlep their kids from another part of town and start reorginizing the whole district again. What an absurd idea ! More Needham money wasted !!! Then, construction on a totally wrong site. How can a school be built on a field that has a flooding problem? Cricket is a filled in swamp with many drainage issues. During the Labor Day weekend rainstorm the field was completely flooded. During the summer there is always sand left in the parking area for the puddles on the filed. All the house around have flooding in a bsmts. at some point due to a high water table...
Yes, it has been used all year round for kids, games , etc. ...., but this is a MAXIMUM you can possibly get out of that space already !
Cricket Field is used by many groups of all ages year round. Continuing to include Cricket as a site for a new Hillside School will delay the state funding process and the needed reconstruction of the Hillside School. The school has huge chank of land in a right location already and families enjoed it for a long time. Renovation is usually a smarter and less expansive way to go.
Cricket Field was supposed to be removed from discussion long time ago ! People in Town Hall pushing for it clearly do not care and not a Needham Residents themselves, but people living in the area and taking pride in their home town have an obligation to do the right thing and preserve the neighborhood for future generations.
Leave a Comment
It is very important that the field is under the jurisdiction of Park and Rec. Astute residents watching this play out will understand that if Cricket can be cannibalized, their neighborhood field may be next. The line in the sand is correct. Wresting a field from Park and Rec is not a precedent we should allow. Many possible future town projects may seem more important than any one green space, but with that view, there would be no green spaces left. In fact, the State of Massachusetts understands this. That is why there is a law that towns must get state approval to repurpose fields. The selectmen aren't anti-child, they understand that they don't want to tangle with the state. That would be a waste of time and money. Furthermore, those who argue that a Hillside field site would be larger than Cricket fail to understand that there is already green space at Hillside. So, the town might gain green square footage, but the count of green spaces would go down by one. Picture if all the town's green space were in one place, but the same total square footage as now. Quality of life in town would be worse. There is actual benefit to having green spaces spread out. That is what Park and Rec understands, that is what the State understands, and that is what the Selectmen understand.
The upcoming vote is not about whether or not to build on Cricket Field, but whether or not to include it in a feasibility study. I do not understand why we would take this off the table without looking into it. What if it was less costly to deal with so called drainage issues then to deal with the environmental issues at the current Hillside location? But this is not for us to determine, but rather for professionals to determine. The argument about green space also makes no sense to me as green space would be gained if Hillside was moved to Cricket Field. It costs nobody and changes nothing by allowing a feasibility study to take place at all possible locations for a new school including Cricket Field.
I am just reading everyone's comments. You all make valid points as to why both hillside and cricket may be the better option long term. I personally have no idea which site would be a better alternative. That being said, I have not heard one good reason as to why cricket should not be studied as an option. Let the experts evaluate the facts and the proposed costs and then we can all make an educated decision. The Save Cricket contingent has drawn a line in the sand and refuses to have an open dialogue - they belong in Washington!!!
Jim -- you are very misinformed. "A fine site"? It's mainly wetlands and has toxic soil.
Carolyn -- the current Hillside site could also be fields for the town to use. In fact, the green space would be larger than Cricket Field. As for it being "under jurisdiction of Parks and Rec", perhaps its time for that board to consider the needs of the town's children, instead of a few selfish abutters of Cricket Field.
It's high time Needham officials wake up and realize we have a big over crowding problem at our schools. With all the new construction it is only getting worse every year.
What I would like to know is why our Town Manager doesn't provide a long term vision for our school building plans. Wasn't that job created so our town would have a strategic long-range vision?
The site of the present Hillside school is fine for a new school -- no need to destro a perfectly nice open space.
What are the other options the town is looking at for spots?
Cricket Field is used by many groups of all ages year round. It is not large enough to support a proposed school with its parking spaces and the proposed fields and playground. More importantly, it is under the jurisdiction of the Park and Recreation Committee which has been adamant about not being willing to give it up. Continuing to include Cricket as a site for a new Hillside School will delay the state funding process and the needed reconstruction of the Hillside School.
How can a school be built on a field that has a flooding problem? Cricket is a filled in swamp with many drainage issues. During the Laborday weekend rainstorm the field was completely flooded. During the summer there is always sand left in the parking area for the puddles on the filed.