Maintenance. Maintenance. Maintenance.

A preview of the upcoming athletic fields report pointed toward a need for improved maintenance as one of the keys for better fields in Barrington. 

Ian Lacy, whose company spearheaded an in-depth analysis of the athletic fields and facilities in Barrington, offered a detailed presentation to the Barrington Town Council on Oct. 2.

Lacy touched on a number of different points — everything from the field scheduling system used in town to the compacted soil found at most local fields. But it was maintenance that seemed to garner the most attention. 

At one point during his presentation Lacy actually apologized for saying the word “maintenance” so many times, but added that any improvements made to Barrington’s fields will require a comprehensive maintenance program. 

In addition, Lacy indicated that the fields report will recommend two fields be re-built. He said Victory Field at Barrington High School and Sherwood Field are not in good condition and should be rebuilt. 

Lacy also said the report will provide a performance assessment for nearly every athletic field in Barrington. He said that most fields graded out at a C or D — a C indicated satisfactory while a D means below satisfactory. 

At the end of the discussion, Council members voted unanimously to forward the athletic fields presentation to the school department and School Committee for consideration for funding in the $250 million school construction bond budget discussions.

Field scheduling system

The field scheduling system used by sports leagues in Barrington may be contributing to some of the field condition issues. 

According to Lacy, the scheduling system is inadequate and does not allow for appropriate field tracking. It also opens the doors for leagues to block out a field for a large block of time, even if that league will not be using the field for the duration. 

That, said Lacy, puts more pressure on other fields and leads to further condition problems. 

There was some discussion about employing one of the online scheduling programs, such as Rec Desk, which would allow for leagues to make real-time adjustments to the field usage schedule. 

Lacy said his company, Tom Irwin Advisors, and the contractor, Traverse, would like to walk through the scheduling situation with the town.

Later in the discussion, Council member Annelise Conway asked that attention be paid as to why certain fields see less traffic and usage than others, and whether there was a way to strike a better balance. 

Field use 

Lacy said athletic field usage in Barrington is “very, very high.”

That puts a lot of pressure on the maintenance of the fields, he said. In addition, there is not a lot of land in Barrington that could be converted to athletic fields. 

Lacy said there is currently no schedule for field maintenance, no tracking for field maintenance and no long-term maintenance plan. He also said that the maintenance issue is heightened because certain fields are experience too much usage. Lacy said that with the maintenance currently being provided by the town, athletic fields are experience 300 to 400 hours more play than they can handle. 

There’s simply not enough maintenance for the hours of use, he said. 

The result? Some less than ideal grades for Barrington’s fields. 

Lacy said the performance assessment completed, which has the same guidelines as FIFA soccer, put Barrington’s fields at C or D — C is satisfactory, and D is unsatisfactory. 

Late in the presentation, Lacy spoke about the maintenance deficiencies. He said he did not mean any disrespect to the town’s DPW. He described the situation as the DPW treading water, trying to stay afloat. Lacy said he hoped this work would “throw them a life raft.”

Topsoil compacted

Lacy offered some good news: Barrington has some stellar topsoil at its athletic fields. He said there is nothing stopping the town from building some very nice athletic fields. 

The topsoil is a bit compacted, however. That compaction has led to low infiltration rates at Barrington fields, which in turn leads to flooding issues when it rains. Lacy said less compacted soil — he offered a brief tutorial on how that could be accomplished — could lead to better drainage and better fields. 

Time to rebuild

Lacy said the report will recommend that Victory Field at Barrington High School and Sherwood Field be reconstructed. He said both fields were not in great condition.

Later in the presentation, an official from Barrington Little League spoke about Sherwood Field. He asked Lacy if he was aware of the work that the DPW was currently doing at Sherwood. Lacy said the recommendation to rebuild Sherwood took the current work into consideration. 

Lacy said the rebuilt fields would also need strong maintenance plans, or they could fall back into poor condition. 

Hire some experts

Lacy said the town should consider hiring experts when it comes to some of the field maintenance. He also said Barrington could build a team of five or six workers that would be fully dedicated to the athletic fields in town. 

Humm said he would like the report, whenever it is completed, to be clear about recommendations for athletic field maintenance personnel. Humm also mentioned the town’s focus on possibly building a field house. 

Humm referenced the School Committee’s current construction plans and the possibility that the Hampden Meadows School property could be repurposed in the future. He said that would be a wonderful opportunity to explore the creation of additional athletic fields in Barrington. 

Council member Kate Berard told Lacy that 18 of the town’s 32 athletic fields are located on school grounds. She added that the school department does not contribute much of its budget for the maintenance of those fields. Berard said she would like to see a more cohesive, collaborative approach to the fields. 

Synthetic turf

Barrington resident and youth sports league official Chris Coleman said he had heard the word “maintenance” about 75 times during the presentation. But, he added, the DPW staff is stretched to complete the work it currently has. 

Coleman said part of the maintenance solution should include the creation of a synthetic turf field in Barrington. He said synthetic turf would solve a lot of the problems facing Barrington.

“I love turf,” Coleman said, adding that he hopes synthetic turf would be included in the final draft of the fields report. 

Lacy said officials could not ignore synthetic turf. We’re definitely looking at that as an option, he said. Lacy added that maintenance would still be required on a synthetic turf field. 

Barrington Town Council President Carl Kustell spoke about hybrid turf — an option that combines natural grass with a synthetic turf component. There was also a brief mention of another hybrid product called fiber sand. 

There was also some discussion about whether the report would include information about adding lights to some of the town’s athletic fields.