New Playing Fields planned for Easton's Chestnut Street

Over 16 acres off of Chestnut Street may soon be the home of several multi-use playing fields, after Easton Town Meeting approved borrowing $2.37 million to purchase and develop the property, Monday night.  The purchase was recommended by the town’s Community Preservation Committee, which is charged with acquiring land for either open space or recreational purposes.

 “We need recreational lands for our kids.  We’ve been doing a lot for the town, and this is our first time we’ve done something for recreation,” said Ed Hands, a Community Preservation Committee member, during a presentation to the voters.   

The town now seeks to enter into a purchase and sales agreement with the land owner, Chestnut Fields Realty Trust, but the process is still in the beginning stages, according to Selectmen Chairwoman Colleen Corona.  She said there are many factors that need to check out before the deal goes through, including the completion of environmental and traffic studies. 

“This is just the first step,” she said after town meeting adjourned.

However, members of the recreation commission are excited about the vote, and hope that the fields can be ready by next spring.   Recreation Commission Chairwoman Elizabeth Nikiciuk said she is elated with the decision, especially since the town now owns only six acres of land that can be used for playing fields.

“There’s thousands of children who play sports (in town), and not enough space,” she said.

 Nikiciuk said the town has a conceptual plan of the field layout, but final plans have not yet been determined.  Right now, they are planning on two ball fields, either baseball or softball, and three multi-use fields, to play sports such as soccer and lacrosse.  The multi-use fields will be in the outfield of the ball fields, so not all fields can be used at the same time.  There are also plans for 144-car parking lot, a town well for field irrigation, a playground, and jogging/walking paths.

Before the vote, town residents who lived nearby the land voiced concerns about the project, although some said they were still in favor of it. They said they were concerned with parking, traffic, field maintenance, and potential problems from having more people in the area.

Sherry Sidney, who is an abutter, said Chestnut Street is narrow, and she has already been hit twice while driving.  She was concerned that people will park on the side of the road, making the problem even worse.  She also questioned whether police and fire could respond quickly to calls in the area.

“It’s so far away from the police and fire departments and we’ve already had problems with people partying,” she said.

Other residents said they thought the project’s cost seemed excessive.

Proponents, however, said the fields would not draw large crowds because they would be used for practice, rather than league and school competitions.  They also said the planning board would have to approve a traffic study before the project was approved.

 As far as the cost, Nikiciuk said she had looked into other playing fields and found that this plan was the least expensive. 

Town Administrator David Colton added that field construction is more difficult than many think.  He said the project will involve getting the right soil, drainage, building a well for irrigation, seeding, and field construction in an environmentally sensitive area.

“It adds up,” he said.

Residents also questioned whether the ball fields would be built for baseball or softball.  Though that has not yet been determined, several residents said they felt that there was a greater need for softball fields.

Town officials also said that the town will not pay the property owner until they are completely satisfied with the finished product.   The said the property owner is a contractor, and will do all the construction work, so there will be no bidding process for the work. 

"They are selling the finished fields," said Easton Planning Director Brad Washburn.