Important Notice Regarding Baseball & Softball Field Renovations

The following letter was released by the Brewster Central School District Regarding Baseball & Softball Field Renovations

November 16, 2017
Dear Parents & Guardians,

Michelle M. Gosh Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Assessment & Instruction

Victor J. Karlsson, CPA Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations

Kathleen Culligan Director of Human Resources

We write to update you on the status of the renovations to the varsity baseball and softball fields. As you may know, the District contemplated this work back in August 2015 but was restricted by regulations imposed by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which has regulatory authority over certain construction or renovation projects located on the Brewster Central School District campus. These regulations necessitated a change in the location of the original design of the C.V. Starr Intermediate School Addition Project, and required a reduction in the scope and delay of the J.F.K. Elementary School Paving Project. The regulations also precluded the District from performing any other additional work, and specifically, renovations to the baseball and softball fields.

Over the past two years, the District has actively pursued this work despite the DEP limitations and have solicited the assistance of our architects, civil engineers, and attorneys to identify any and all avenues to accomplish our goal. These efforts and limitations were presented at a Community Forum held this past April, and are described in a Question & Answer Summary located on our website.

Most recently, we solicited the assistance of the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal (NYSIR), our insurance company, to thoroughly inspect the fields in hopes of expediting the DEP-permitting process. The report expressed concern over the condition of the fields and the potential for injury due to the unevenness of the infields relative to the outfields. Based on this latest development, the project has evolved from a desired renovation to a required repair . In all likelihood, these two fields will not be available for the Spring 2018 sports season while they are being repaired.

Insite Engineering, our civil engineers, presented the required course of action to request permission from the DEP to perform these repairs at last Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting. It involves a significant amount of planning, designing, and filing of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), which is a requirement for both the NY State Department of

Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the NY City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Our architects, civil engineers, and attorneys are all collaborating on this report and will file the necessary paperwork with the DEC and DEP within the next several weeks. We are told that the review process can take several months to complete, but again, our hope is that the report from our insurance company can expedite the approval process.

In addition, the following actions are being taken immediately:

  • Alternate sites for baseball and softball games are being identified and will be communicated as soon as they are confirmed.
  • An application is being filed with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to declare the field repair an emergency project, expediting NYSED’s approval process. (NYSED approval is required in addition to DEC and DEP.)
  • The situation is evolving each day, but we felt it was important to immediately notify you of these important developments. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available, and appreciate your understanding and support as we navigate through this challenging regulatory approval process.

Sincerely,

Victor Karlsson Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations

Dean Berardo Andrew Bates

Director of P.E., Director of Facilities II Health & Athletics 

B
Submitted by Brewster, NY

Become a Local Voice in Your Community!

HamletHub invites you to contribute stories, events, and more to keep your neighbors informed and connected.

Read Next