Board backs community fundraiser to install irrigation at Linden Street fields

The Exeter Regional Cooperative School District joint board voted Oct. 15 to support a community-led effort to install irrigation on the Linden Street athletic fields.

The board approved a motion to proceed after a presentation from a community organizer who said volunteers raised about $13,000 initially and secured additional funding, including a Bill Belichick grant, bringing the total to roughly $23,000. The presenter told the board a local irrigation company had agreed to install the system and that youth sports groups had offered logistical support.

"We raised some money, and we did pretty good. It was, like, $13,000 right out of the gate ... we got the Bill Belichick grant, so we're a little over $23,000 raised," the presenter said during the meeting. Rusty Lisser, the district director of facilities, told the board the existing well could irrigate the field and that town water would not be necessary.

Board members questioned timing around fall sports; presenters and district staff said installation could proceed in a short window but that larger loam-and-seed work was likely a spring project so as not to disrupt the season. "I mean, roughly irrigation installed would take roughly a week," the presenter said when asked about timeline.

A board member moved the question and a second followed; the board voted in favor. Chair Bill Gauthier thanked the presenters and the district indicated it would work with the volunteers and facilities staff to coordinate next steps.

The approval was for the board to support the community group's plan and allow coordination with district facilities; the group said further work — including possible additional fundraising for loam and seed — would follow once irrigation is in place.