HILLSDALE, NJ.—Hillsdale will celebrate the newly renovated Memorial Field with a grand opening Sunday, Oct. 18, beginning at noon. The residents-only event will feature food, music and games.
Borough Administrator Michael Ghassali said the renovated facility will be available for use that day, with playground installation beginning Oct. 19. A resident’s $150,000 donation is funding the playground separately from the approximately $6.6 million in construction and related professional-service costs reported for the project.
Ghassali said the borough covered the funding gap by canceling old capital ordinances and using grant money from Beechwood Park. He and Mayor Michael Sheinfield have maintained that the additional project costs will not result in a tax increase.
“The day we’ve been waiting for is now in sight. We start at noon, and expect the celebration to go on for hours! This will be fun for the whole family. I’ll see you there,” Sheinfield wrote on Facebook.
At the Oct. 6 council meeting, Borough Engineer Nick Chelius said the parking lot had been finished Oct. 2 and striped Oct. 5. The coaches box was complete, and a handrail was awaiting installation.
Ghassali said he and Chelius would walk the site and check for flaws before deeming the turf field installation complete.
The playground will require additional work after opening day. Chelius told the council that about half of the playground area would be finished this year. A rubber safety surface will be installed around the new equipment, requiring removal of about two inches of existing gravel.
Ghassali also said larger bleachers are planned for next year.
Council members discussed protecting the new field. Councilman Clemente Osso raised concerns about people walking dogs on the turf and allowing them to foul it. Councilwoman Melissa Mazza-Chiong said cameras would monitor the field, while Sheinfield noted that deer could also enter.
Ghassali said signs would be posted and asked residents to help protect the facility by reporting improper use.
Updated costs and funding
The construction contract with Applied Landscape Technologies of Montville now totals approximately $6.07 million, about $279,000—or 4.8%—above the original award.
The latest additions include approximately $23,250 for new turf in the existing batting cage and about $580 for lighting above the press box’s main door. Although an Oct. 7 engineering memo identified those change orders as proposed, Ghassali subsequently confirmed they had been approved.
Earlier changes included additional site clearing, topsoil disposal and delivery, drainage and water-service work, a guardrail, and sidewalk and curb extensions. A less expensive coaches box reduced costs by nearly $80,000, offsetting some of the additions.
Ghassali’s breakdown lists approximately $535,000 for surveying, environmental assessments, design, construction oversight and related professional services. He confirmed approval of two additional professional-service amounts totaling $43,050.
Together, the construction contract and listed professional services total approximately $6.6 million. The separately funded playground is not included in that figure.
The council awarded the original $5.79 million construction contract on Oct. 30, 2025, through the Bergen County Cooperative Pricing System. Earlier, on March 11, 2025, it approved the improvements with a stated $5.8 million spending cap.
Ghassali previously identified approximately $1.2 million from the borough’s field improvement account and $4.6 million in bonding to finance the work.
Asked how the borough covered the increases, Ghassali said officials canceled old capital ordinances and applied grant money from Beechwood Park to the gap. He did not specify the amounts from each source. We requested a final accounting of Memorial Field expenditures.