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New Providence board agrees to community fundraising for Salt Brook softball field repairs
Summary
Board members gave consensus to allow community fundraising and volunteer work to repair and upgrade Salt Brook School softball diamonds, with an estimated private fundraising goal of about $43,000 and a district contingency to complete work in early March if funds are not raised by mid‑November.
Administrators and community volunteers told the Board of Education on Sept. 24 that Salt Brook School’s softball diamonds need regrading and new player facilities, and the district will allow local fundraising and volunteer work to proceed to finance the repairs.
District staff said the diamonds have not been used by high‑school programs for nearly two decades, have deteriorated and are currently maintained by the Department of Public Works, and that the district is recommending regrading to improve drainage, adding dugouts with longer benches and metal roofs, and installing foul‑line fencing.
A district staff member said the estimated total cost for the work is about $43,000: roughly $11,000 for infield work and about $10,000 for fencing, with the remaining amount to cover dugouts and related site work. The administration asked the board for consensus to allow community volunteer efforts and private fundraising led by Kelly Ackroy of PAL to proceed; board members said they had informal consensus to permit the fundraising and volunteer effort.
Presenters said the project could begin in mid‑November if fundraising succeeds, and that DPW (cited by a staff member named Vinnie) has assured the district that if funds are not ready by mid‑November, the work can be completed in early March in time for the softball season. Board members framed the direction as community partnership rather than a formal district appropriation; no additional district funding request or formal board vote was recorded during the presentation.
Board members and the administration thanked volunteers and PTA/PAL representatives for stepping forward. The district said it will report back with updates on fundraising progress and a formal timeline for work before committing district resources.
