School Board Weighs Hodgins Field Access

When the Borough and decided to each pay part of the cost of building a new turf field at Hodgins Stadium at , they agreed that the high school teams would get priority, followed by the Borough recreation program.

But what about other organized groups?

"There's really no provision for that," Steven Cea, business administrator for the Board of Education, said.

The Board of Education discussed how to dole out the remaining field time at their meeting Monday. Trustee Bernadette McCausland was adamant that the field should stay open to residents.

"I firmly believe that the fields and the buildings belong to the taxpayers," McCausland said.

Trustee Sheila Criscione said the people using the fields at and the are often from out of town. She said the Borough and the Board of Education would have to look at the original agreement with Bergen County, which financed half of the field's $700,000 cost, to see if it limits access to Paramus residents.

Councilman Ralph Amato, the liaison to the Board of Education, said he would take the issue to the rest of the governing body at their work session Tuesday.

The discussion between the two bodies could include all the other fields in Paramus, McCausland said. Currently, the fields are unevenly used, she said, leading some fields to undergo heavy use and require heavy maintenance, while others go relatively unused.

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