Residents press Essex County for public meetings after park renovation plans advance; Grover Cleveland softball contract approved

Essex County commissioners approved park contracts and trust‑fund authorizations Wednesday — including authorization to use up to $1,150,000 from the County Recreation/Open Space Trust Fund for Grover Cleveland Park softball field improvements and a construction award for the project — while a series of public commenters urged the board to hold a community meeting and reconsider the project’s scope.

County parks director Joshua Zates presented agenda items including authorization to fund Grover Cleveland Park infield improvements (item 51, amount not to exceed $1,150,000) and related A&E and construction services across the park system. At the meeting the Department of Public Works presented a contract award to CNF Construction for Grover Cleveland softball field improvements (item 54 in the presentation), described on the record as a construction contract not to exceed $1,114,126 to install a synthetic turf infield, new fencing, backstop, dugouts, irrigation improvements, sidewalks and related site furnishings.

Multiple public commenters — most prominently Winifred Victor Hines of the Weequay/Weekway Park Association and Michelle Boynton of the Great Park Association — said residents were not adequately notified, asked why a fourth or renovated baseball/softball field is needed when other fields and programs already exist, and urged a public community meeting to consider alternatives (speakers proposed an ice or roller‑skating rink as a more broadly used, year‑round amenity). Hines said the association had not been given advance notice of the plans and called for the county executive to hold a public meeting before work advances: "The county executive owns the community a transparent explanation for why a 4 softball field…was prioritized over a facility that would serve exponentially more residents," she said on the record.

Parks staff and several commissioners responded that some projects renovate existing fields and that the Grover Cleveland work and other park contracts had been vetted by staff and the Open Space Trust Fund advisory process. A parks contractor and project manager attending the meeting described the project scope and said the contractor expects to hire local workers for a portion of the project.

The board moved and approved the set of parks items on the agenda. Commissioners asked administration staff to follow up with written responses to specific community inquiries and indicated they will continue to require staff briefings and public outreach in advance of construction where appropriate.