HILLSDALE—The borough’s engineer said work should begin soon on improving Centennial Field’s playing surface and drainage when project approval is received from the state Department of Environmental Protect, which is expected within weeks.
The engineer said the recent low bidder on the Centennial FIeld project was Dakota Construction at $377,164.10, which was below the original estimate of $630,000.
Borough Engineer Nick Chelius, Colliers Engineering & Design, Mount Arlington, said the Centennial project would create “a more functional and playable field” there, including drainage enhancements such as sand being added to topsoil to increase infiltration and underdrains that will help remove water so the playing surface dries quicker.
Chelius said the borough licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) “believes that it (DEP approval) will be soon” and he expects the project to be awarded at one of the October council meetings. The borough must seek DEP approval because the field is built on a former landfill and the project must not impair the landfill’s cap or future monitoring.
Chelius said the Centennial work will include “mild grades” to each side of the field to enhance drainage and the field will be finished with natural grass, or sod, “to establish a nice playing surface,” he said.
Chelius said that Dakota had recently completed a turf field in Glen Rock that turned out “great” and having worked with them before, he noted they were a “reputable contractor.”
As for planned Memorial Field improvements, administrator Michael Ghassali said a second “concept plan” for a full redesign there was to be discussed with the Field Committee on Sept. 12. Chelius said he had worked with the borough to provide an updated concept plan, He said further updates would be provided when available.
Councilor John Ruocco questioned whether a new timber rail and gravel path recently installed would be eliminated due to a new park redesign. Chelius said those improvements would likely be lost but the costs, partly covered by a grant, would be approximately half of a total $45,163.00 grant.
Chelius said a “full redesign” of Memorial FIeld was being planned and retaining any existing improvements was not possible given “we’ll be completely rearranging the way the whole field is laid out,” said Chelius.
Resident Richard Savino later questioned whether the decision to install artificial turf or natural sod had yet been made for Memorial Field. (See “Artificial turf vs. grass on Memorial FIeld, Michael Olohan, July 29, 2024, thepressgroup.net).
Ghassali said they had directed Chelius to come up with a plan for a turf field at Memorial, though he said the council has the final decision. Savino said the environmental commission “took a very strong position to reconsider using turf on any of the fields for injuries, for health, for a lot of reasons.”
Upon questioning from Savino, Ghassali said the Memorial FIeld project will be discussed and voted on in public by council. Savino also said he wanted to review the Centennial Field bids and attorney Marc Madaio told Savino to file a Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request and he would be notified when the bid documents were back at town hall.
Ghassali said the bid documents were still being reviewed by the borough engineer and Savino would be notified when they were available.