Glen Rock school officials join talks on field usage

The failure of the Faber Field bond referendum, and probability of major rehab work at the Coleman School softball field, will heighten the need for district/borough sports coordination in upcoming months, according to Glen Rock Board of Education (BOE) member Carlo Cella III.

At the Nov. 24 BOE meeting, Cella, board liaison to the municipal Recreation Advisory Board (RAB), said, "The Faber Field referendum defeat was a major topic at the Nov. 18 RAB meeting, and (scheduling) is something that we need to be involved with."

Cella added, "In case it isn't generally known, the high school and middle school send many varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams to play baseball, soccer and lacrosse at Faber Field, and everyone needs to be aware of that."

He added that "I also discussed our intention to modify the Coleman field, and that tentatively, we are thinking of closing it down starting at the end of the current school year, to be reopened for girls softball in March 2016.

"So we need to get closely-coordinated with the borough with respect to opening and closing fields - ours and theirs," Cella said.

The possible shutdown of lower Faber - near-term due to deteriorating conditions, and longer-range should the possible alternative of a natural grass renovation there require an initial "rest" period - has loomed larger since Glen Rock voters defeated the synthetic turf plan in November.

BOE alternatives for Coleman's also-declining fields have been deliberated for over a year - with $430,000 already budgeted in the current school year to re-sod the school's playing surfaces.

In light of all possibilities, Cella said district buildings and grounds supervisor Sandy Marinos and athletic director Frank Violante will jointly engage with borough recreation officials and others on a comprehensive field usage and utilization study.

That initiative will be an integral part of the charge to the new ad hoc committee established by Mayor John van Keuren, which will address alternative solutions at Faber Field or elsewhere, in the context of overall recreation facility needs. Referring to that group, Cella said, "We will be providing input to the committee, but we will not be part of it."

The BOE is currently vetting a tandem investment to add lights to the high school's synthetic turf football/all-purpose stadium, alongside the budgeted natural grass rehabilitation at Coleman.

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Glen Rock school officials join talks on field usage