Community donors offer $110,000 dugout project for Backus Lane baseball field

Jack Pearson, the varsity baseball head coach, asked the committee to accept a community‑funded project to construct dugouts at Backus Lane. He said the proposal is privately funded with no request for town or school budget money and named individual donors and contractors who have offered labor and materials.

Pearson said the project is intended to improve player safety and equipment protection and to cap the newer field. In response to committee questions, he said the donors are committed and that a quoted cost appears in the project packet: “A 110,000,” which he read aloud as the current estimate. Committee members pressed for clarity on post‑construction maintenance costs (which the district would absorb), the presence of a school project manager or district oversight, and written agreements in case a partner withdraws.

Superintendent and district staff said the facilities director (Chip Clooney) will be involved in permitting and oversight, and the superintendent offered to help draft a memorandum of understanding to document partners’ commitments. The district noted that dugouts at other fields could be considered later but that the Backus Lane site is specifically used by the varsity program and currently lacks roofs or enclosed structures.

No formal vote on acceptance or placement was recorded that night; the committee thanked Pearson and asked staff to work with the donor group on formal agreements and permitting. If advanced, the district expects construction to aim for readiness by the start of the season in late March.