NEWSTEAD
Soccer league offers to help maintain Town Park fields
The Akron Soccer League is willing to help Newstead with the costs of maintaining the soccer fields in the Town Park on Buell Street, league officials told the Town Board at its work session Monday.
In a 45-minute discussion, Ed Apholz, league president and modified boys soccer coach for the Akron School District, and Bob Lichtenthal, a member of the league’s Board of Directors, praised the town for the “high quality of the fields.”
The league, which serves about 550 children, also uses fields in the county-owned Akron Falls Park. It does not pay a fee to either the town or county for use of the fields.
Town Supervisor David Cummings and Councilman Harold Finger — one of the founders of the league — zeroed in on some key points that they and the other Town Board members believe need to be addressed:
• Coordinating “down time” so that town employees can do necessary maintenance work including reseeding fields. Finger said the ideal time is fall rather than early spring.
Apholz said the fall soccer season runs from after Labor Day to about the second weekend in October and the county fields “are usually closed by Labor Day.”
“But maybe we could change the venue if you need that time for fertilizing and seeding,” he said.
Apholz added that the league would be willing to contribute to the cost of that procedure.
• Providing the town with dates for practice times and games so that it can better schedule use of the park — including its shelter and pavilion — by other groups and individuals. The park is a popular setting for large gatherings such as family reunions and picnics.
“We need to know who will be there and when because we have more diversity of usage, and we want to keep everyone happy,” said Cummings.
Pointing to the 2001 master plan for the park, Cummings noted that it also called for baseball/softball diamonds and bocce courts among other uses. The town is currently exploring a grant for a baseball diamond.
• Examining storage needs for field equipment, food, grills, etc. in the pavilion, noting that other groups and individuals also use that space. Apholz said the league was considering purchase of a “portable shed.”
• The use of the fields by Buffalo United Soccer, which pays the town $60 for each use. Apholz acknowledged that Akron Soccer also charges Buffalo United $50 per game, primarily to cover the cost of “painting the field.”
• The possible need to report injuries at any practice or game to the town because of the potential of a lawsuit.
