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Select Board approves limited park safety work, orders additional bids and facilities review
Summary
The board authorized staff to pursue a 10-foot netting extension on Cole Field and to move forward in principle with dog-waste stations using part of CIP funds, while asking staff to seek additional fencing bids and involve the facilities director; the board also delegated score-booth removal authority to DPW and asked for CIP quote clarifications.
The Select Board agreed in principle to immediate, targeted work to reduce fly-ball risk at the town's ball fields while requiring further procurement review for larger fencing projects.
Ashley, the parks and recreation presenter, told the board a vendor quote to add 10 feet of netting to the Cole Field backstop would cost roughly $2,800. She recommended using $2,800 of the $7,500 in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) allocation to install the 10-foot extension and reserving remaining CIP funds for two priorities: dog-waste stations and other field fixes. Ashley said vendor advice from Manomet Fencing indicated netting beyond 10 feet risks instability without heavier poles, and Cal Ripken and DPW would assist with installation if funding and approvals are provided.
Board members pressed for standard procurement practices on larger and costlier baseline fencing (O'Brien field baseline work was quoted near $9,600), with Shana Thompson urging multiple bids to protect taxpayers. The board agreed staff should solicit additional quotes for fencing, notify facilities director Joe DeRusso for technical review (Joe was on vacation but will be looped in), and return next meeting with a procurement recommendation and an authorization limit.
On dog-waste stations, Ashley presented bundled pricing for four stations (estimates ranged roughly $1,000 to $1,600 for four units including one year of bag refills). Members expressed concern that installing bag stations without a field ordinance could be interpreted as inviting dogs onto playing fields; the board asked staff to finalize a field ordinance with police and include clear signage restricting dog use inside fenced play areas. The board indicated informal approval to reserve part of CIP funds for dog stations, subject to ordinance progress and final quotes.
Facilities and CIP items: The board heard repeated vandalism at Brown Memorial Field's score booth and delegated responsibility to Joe DeRusso to decide removal logistics and to provide a removal plan (including disposal) to Lori before work begins. Staff also proposed reallocating part of a $35,000 CIP allocation for Richardson Park decking toward parking-lot restriping (one vendor texted a $1,850 estimate); the board instructed staff to gather formal quotes, include Joe in cost assessments, and return next meeting.
Why it matters: The decisions prioritize near-term, lower-cost work to reduce safety incidents before the season while protecting taxpayer interests through additional bids and facilities review on larger-ticket items. The board balanced the urgency of opening-day deadlines against the need for procurement diligence.
What happens next: Staff will obtain additional fencing quotes, involve the facilities director for technical review, refine the scope and budget for dog-waste stations and parking-lot work, and return to the board at the next meeting with formal recommendations and any required motions.
Representative quotes
"Anything over 10 ft is going to become unstable depending on [wind]," staff said, summarizing vendor advice on netting height and pole requirements.
"We typically get a minimum of three quotes on larger purchases," Shana Thompson said, urging additional bids for the fencing work.
Provenance: Topic begins with Ashley's parks presentation and vendor quotes and continues through board procurement direction, dog-station discussion, score-booth removal delegation, and Richardson Park CIP items (topicintro: SEG 1000; topfinish: SEG 2110).
