Chesley Park to Get Field Turf
By Celeste Roche | Correspondent at March 26, 2024 | 6:15 pm | Print
The Junior Canes have had an outstanding year and it is only getting better.
On Wednesday night the Common Council approved a project to take their unsafe field at Chesley Park and put in field turf.
During the Mayor’s State of the City address early in the month she said, “One of the finest youth programs in the nation – yet the field they play on is in such poor condition that it borders being unsafe.
And over at Chesley Park, I think it’s time to put field turf there too.
Chesley is home to the Junior Canes Football program Both the Junior Canes and the children of our East Side neighborhoods deserve a quality playing surface and, with the Council’s help, I am prepared to push this project forward this year.”
Prior to the Council Meeting, during Public Participation, Justin Dorsey, Mayor’s Aid, delivered a message from the Mayor to the Council that she was in support of field improvements at Chesley Park.
Dorsey additionally commented from his own perspective that it’s a shame that the Junior Hurricanes, a team of champions, were given an embarrassingly substandard field.
“Just imagine the possibilities,” Dorsey said, discussing the proposed improvements. “The Junior Hurricanes deserve a home of their own.”
The Council voted unanimously to approve new artificial turf and other improvements for Chesley Park.
“I want to thank the Council members who voted ‘no,’ to not rescind these bonds,” said Alderwoman Suzanne Bielinski, referring to bonding that survived the chopping block a year ago and will now be directed at the project. She commented that the improvements to the park would be good for the neighborhood as a whole.
Alderman David DeFronzo inquired about a timeline for completion of the project.
“If it gets passed tonight, we call them tomorrow morning. Everything’s kind of lined-up,” said Bill DeMaio. “We’re going to shoot for maybe September 1st.”
The Council also approved additional funds for Willow Brook Park, to account for an increase in activities scheduled to be held there.
After a lengthy discussion about who has responsibility for which holes at the Stanley Golf Course and how funds from the Costco project have been negotiated and handled, the Council unanimously approved moneys for Parks and Recreation to use to purchase sod and hydroseeding for the Blue and White 18; there is concern that there may be a greater need for replanting than originally assumed due to the harsh winter.
The Council was lighthearted in approving the permit for Saint John Paul II School to run their annual Bazaar and Carnival. Alderman David DeFronzo asked the Mayor if she had received an invitation to sit in the dunk-tank, yet.
“No,” she laughed, “we can throw at each other, if we [both get invited to be dunked].”
Alderman DeFronzo suggested that if their fathers, both former mayors, were to sit in the dunk-tank, they might raise enough money to save the school from closing its doors.
