Mayor Christopher Johnson announces the creation of a task force to help improve the conditions of the town’s athletic fields.
Photo credit: Agawam Media
AGAWAM — In response to mounting dissatisfaction with the condition of the town’s athletic fields, Mayor Christopher Johnson announced the formation of a Parks and Fields Task Force to help formalize an improvement plan.
Speaking to the City Council at its May 19 regular meeting, Johnson said the task force will inventory the fields, determine what needs to be done on each field to improve it, develop a priority for utilization of the fields and come up with a plan on how to improve them.
“We’re going to start the process on [May 21], and hopefully in the not-too-distant future we’ll have a formalized plan,” Johnson said.
The announcement of the task force comes after a social media group was created to bring awareness to the poor conditions of the town’s fields. The 180-member group, titled “Fix our Agawam Fields,” features various posts showcasing fields across town riddled with divots, overgrown grass, brown grass or no grass at all.
“I think the conditions of our fields are not just disappointing; I think they’re unsafe,” said Michael Curto, an Agawam resident and the progenitor of the group. “This is not about minor inconvenience. It’s about kids practicing and competing on surfaces with hole[s], bare patches, uneven footing. These are fields that are serving the public, spaces we fund with our tax dollars and they are not meeting that standard.”
Curto was one of the few people who spoke about the condition of the fields during the council’s public comment period. Cole Ingham, a multi-sport athlete and junior at Agawam High School, said the condition of the high school’s baseball field is, “to put it simply, in real rough shape.”
Ingham mentioned that one of his biggest challenges as an outfielder is having to charge a ground ball, because the field is “so uneven and unpredictable, the ball could bounce anywhere at any time.”
He said that out of all the fields he has been to for games this year, Agawam has the “worst by far.”
“We love playing at home and representing our town, but we all feel like we’re playing at a disadvantage before the first pitch is even thrown,” Ingham said.
Efforts to find more efficient ways to maintain the fields have already begun, according to Johnson. The town, with the help of a professional, started a program last year to analyze the fields, take soil samples and map out pesticide applications.
Johnson added that the DPW also recently ordered a slice seeder, allowing the town to oversee the fields much more efficiently.
Although some of this treatment has yielded positive results, Johnson said the lack of manpower in the DPW office has made it difficult to maintain every field. After only experiencing two openings in the laborer’s position for Highway and Grounds, the department currently has five positions that need to be filled.
Johnson said anyone 18 years or older looking for a summer job in DPW should reach out to the town’s Human Resources office.
“I know we’ve started earlier this year, and several of the fields that we’ve already treated have responded very favorably,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the manpower at this point to get to every field, but hopefully with the assistance of the task force, we’ll be able to attract.”
The task force, which had its first meeting on May 21, consists of Curto, Agawam Little League President AJ Christopher, Joseph DePalma, DPW Superintendent of Highway and Grounds Peter Sadowski, Parks and Recreation Director Chris Sparks, AHS Athletic Director Karen Gomez, City Councilor Dino Mercadante, School Committee member Shelley Borgatti-Reed and Greg Scibelli, an active member of adult baseball across Western Mass.
At the end of the May 19 meeting, councilors highlighted the importance of fixing the fields to improve athletes’ safety. Mercadante thanked the mayor for “having the faith in him” to represent the council on the task force, and Councilor Edward Borgatti said the council and School Committee are planning a bus trip to tour the fields.
In his closing remarks, Agawam City Councilor Gerald Smith predicted that people would laud Agawam athletic fields a year from now.
“I’m very, very pleased with [the mayor’s plan] that he’s come up with,” Smith said. “Our fields will be back to where they were.”
