No Ulysses, lack of planning for a grass field instead of turf was not the undoing of the proposed FOD at DEO. I'm surprised you would use a term like "done deal" to make a point.

HUNDREDS of local residents & families did not want the intrusion in a residential neighborhood with the decrease in their property values and quality of life- and thousands of NM residents supported them. The local streets can't accommodate the traffic & the proposed parking on site was waaaaay under planned. TAXPAYERS are smart enough to realize the "estimated increase in taxes" did not include all the numbers associated with running & maintaining the complex. NM RESIDENTS did not want to pay for( & own the all liability on) the complex on while the BOE controlled its use. NO ONE wanted to see the HS kids walking a mile to and from the school to another field (lurings) when the property next to the HS was still theoretically in play and could provide a much safer, monitored environment.
ETC...
Oh yea, the town can't simply cant afford it- grass or not. How's our emergency fund doing post SANDY?

The majority of the town saw it as a Plan B option- WHAT STARTED OUT AS A WELL INTENTIONED ENDEAVOR turned into a committee compromise unwilling & too shortsighted to change their position- & accommodate the new momentum regarding the community use of the UW property. Everyone knows the UW property is the best option-& the only one that the hardworking, taxpaying, proud people of NM deserve.

John Bigger, Recreation Director
In 2008, The entire LaBarbera Field was replaced due to the damage of the 2007 flood for $167,000 (Capital Expenditure). There was a new irrigation system installed as well as a drainage system to alleviate some rainwater issues. New sod was installed on the entire field and the infield was redone. Hurricane Irene damaged much of the infield which was redone this Spring for $10,000. Recreation has already applied for Bergen County Open Space money for 2013 to replace fencing, dugouts and the backstop so the taxpayers of New Milford are not shouldering the entire burden. There were 13 New Milford teams who used the field between March and August and it was very well maintained throughout, largely due to the efforts of the DPW Field Crew. We received praise from out of town teams how well conditioned the field was. There is still work to be done and it will be done. Upon the completion of the Junior Football season, work will begin to rehab the certain sections of grass which get worn during the course of a football season.

I have worked very closely with Junior Football to maintain the integrity of the field even if it means restricting practices and usuage and they have been very cooperative. Is the field closed for a day or two after a heavy rain? Yes, but that is due to its location, not maintenance. The other Recreation fields are very well maintained considering the amount of use. Williams Field (behind the Library) is one of the best in the area. Kennedy Field (behind Boro Hall) was in excellent shape until it was damaged, but I assure you it will be back by next softball season. Every January, I meet with our DPW Field Crew and our unpaid field maintenance specialist to go over the needs for the coming year. Our specialist advises what needs to be done and when to do it. To say there is no maintenance plan is not only inaccurate and untrue, it is unfair to our DPW Staff. My guarantee to the citizens of New Milford is their Recreation Fields will continue to be of high quality

It's unfortunate that our kids are affected because the taxpayers can't afford to agree to any project that will increase taxes. It may be time to have an outside source take a forensic look into how our money is being spent.

"Furthermore, we think its a bad idea to let the current "FOD" committee continue to hold the public bullhorn on providing a voice for better fields for our kids." What stopped you from coming out to the M&C meeting and speaking into the public bullhorn? This is an open public meeting of your elected officals & the place to let your voice be heard. If "we" or you are so interested in the cause, come on down & sit with the rest of us for 4 hours. There is no admission charge & unless I'm mistaken, it's the place that we have the "public conversation" with our elected officials. You seem annoyed that I am asking questions about how we are purchasing the UW property with grants; I do believe the campaign season is now over & as such, it's time for someone to articulate the alternate plan for purchasing the UW property & putting the field there. No one is letting the "grants writer" control anything, requesting that she make a presentation at the M&C meeting is an attempt to understand how we secure around 8 million to purchase the land & then build a field there and the timeframe for all the grant money. As for the grants that I know about with my work on the field committee, I'd be happy to have a conversation about towns that secured grant money for field projects, while I'm not an expert in securing grants, I have done much research on how other towns have funded fields and which towns have utilized grant money.

No, you give me a break. How do you think the HS PTO functions? It's almost entirely from the snack stand &the revenues generated from home games support the entire student body of NMHS. The fact that you don't know that tells me that you're most likely not qualified to comment. It's not the parent's of the kids on the HS football team, soccer teams, band or cheerleaders that are saying just pass the money along to OUR kids. It's not the parents who work in the snack stand saying just make sure that money goes back to MY kid. So do yourself a favor before you continue to make comments and get the facts straight. Look at yesterday's Record's & their take on our field with the girl's state soccer playoff game: "field conditions prevented either teams from making things happen." There was plenty of slipping and sliding as players struggled to keep their footing and control the ball...a hard-fought game that was made more difficult by a soggy and choppy field." And yet, the girl's HS team got the job done & so did the football team tonight. It's telling that the only people who continue to comment on field conditions in terms of performance are those who have been OPPOSED to the field. Head's up people - no field in any condition has anything to do with producing winning teams-our town couldn't be a better example of that. However, the fact that it's taken a over a decade to resolve a fairly simple issue such as flooded and over-crowded fields speaks to a much bigger problem.

AGREE. GET OVER IT, THE TAX PAYERS DON'T WANT ANOTHER FIELD. THIS BOLOGNA HAS GOT TO END. WE DON'T WANT ANOTHER FIELD. THE VOTERS SPOKE. AND IM SICK OF HEARING "THESE POOR KIDS IN THIS TOWN." NEW MILFORD DOESN'T KNOW WHAT A POOR KID IS. NEW MILFORD RESIDENCE ARE MORE WORRIED ABOUT PAYING THEIR BILLS AND KEEPING THEIR HOMES. MOVE ON TO ANOTHER SUBJECT.

THEN YOU PAY FOR IT. NOT THE TAX PAYERS.

You might want to take your own advice about the "deep breaths" techniques. You made your comments & perhaps because they've been questioned & you can't respond to the actual ISSUES, the new strategy is to go into victim mode as being attacked by the big "bully". If being knowledgeable, direct & outspoken on an issue while having a short fuse for BS makes one a "bully" than you can call me whatever you like. At least this big "bully" doesn't post: " NO ONE wanted to see the HS kids walking a mile to and from the school to another field (lurings) when the property next to the HS was still theoretically in play and could provide a much safer, monitored environment." Is this your example of comments that may not be "RIGHT" but open up a forum for discussion? I fail to see such comments as opening up any forum for discussion, but I do see them as repeated examples of deliberately misleading to ensure that there's no chance of any field by the MS. We already have HS kids in several sports walking to the MS & the last time I looked, it was certainly way less than a mile between the two schools. I could just imagine the outcry if our recommendation had been buy UW for 8million & put a 3 million dollar field there. While I agree with Miriam's sentiment about trying to work together, it's not going to happen with people who have their own hidden agenda or are unwilling to compromise.

MARY, YOU SEEM TO HAVE SOME CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER. NO QUESTION MARK AT THE END OF THAT SENTENCE...MARY YOU HAVE A CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER.........

I'm not sure whose children you are referring to as sending out emails, but they were not my children. Further, any child who took a sign off a lawn whose last name is not the same as mine, has nothing to do with me. In the same token, I would never direct any child to touch another's personal property. I'm under the impression that one child removed a sign at the MS & nothing more. I have no idea about any Patch posting that you are referring to from George Adelung. The only thing that George sent out that ever referred to me was a letter informing parents of the referendum defeat. And while he may have mentioned my efforts on the field in that email, that is as far as it went and the email was to parents. He told parents to pass along a message from him to their children to be "hopeful" and "thankful". I imagine each individual family would have the right to pass along that message or not at their will. There was no mention of anything to do with me in his message to the children.

I ALSO TOLD PEOPLE PASSING OUT FLYERS BASICALLY HARRASSING YOU TO VOTE, THAT THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES FOR EVEN TRYING TO PUSH THIS SITUATION. POOR KIDS MY BACKSIDE...THIS IS PATHETIC. YOU PEOPLE ARE SO DISGRACEFUL...IF YOU WANT ANOTHER FIELD PAY FOR IT OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKETS AND LEAVE THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR A FIELD OUT OF IT.

THE PARENTS OUTSIDE BERKLEY SCHOOL WERE A DISGRACE AND I TOLD THEM TO THEIR FACE THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES.

PERSONAL PREFERENCES....ITS A TROUGH FOR THESE PEOPLE, TO FEEL THEY ARE IMPORTANT IN THIS TOWN....SICKENING. NOBODY EVER KNEW MY FATHER AND HIS FRIENDS BUILT SOME OF THESE FIELDS. NOT LIKE THE LEADERS OF SPORTS TODAY...ESPECIALLY JUNIOR FOOTBALL. SAD THAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT THEM THEN KIDS. GO TO NYC AND SEE THE FIELDS THOSE KIDS PLAY ON....AND THEIR THE ONES WHO MAKE IT TO GREAT COLLEGE'S. NOW MOST OF THEM ARE POOR KIDS.

Heart is not the problem. Mary personally attacking everyone that has a different viewpoint is the problem. Assuming she understands the motivations and the backstory on complete strangers and then blasting them for their "inadequacy" is the problem. 80-90% of the conversations that devolve into angry threads seem to involve Mary.
You know as well as i do that very few people give props to PATCH because of the arguing. Most will publicly say Patch is a joke, full of landmines, etc.. yet- everyone reads it, don't they? We'll- it actually has the potential to be a good public forum-

If Mary can't control herself, then we will have to ask the moderator to get involved- and no one really wants to see Mary loose this forum for her voice. Say what you will, but I bet the mod would prefer if many of her NM posts didn't get marginalized and devolve into chaos because of the actions of just a few....

HEY JIMMY, FRANKLY I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR OPINION. NO FIELD....YOU LOST...END OF IT...GO HELP FAMILIES WHO NEED REAL HELP...BY THE WAY THE JR FOOTBAL LEAGUE OWES MONEY TO ME...HAVENT SEEN IT YET....AND I DON'T HIDE BEHIND FAKE NAMES....MY NAME IS TARA, THERE ARENT MANY IN NM...YOUR WELCOME TO COME TO MY DOOR AND DEBATE ANYTHING YOU WANT....I WILL LISTEN TO YOUR OPINION AND YOU CAN LISTEN TO MINE. WHO ARE YOU TO CALL ANYONE A COWARD WHO CHOOES NOT TO USE THEIR FULL NAME....MY FAMILY FOUGHT FOR THIS COUNTRY TO DO THE SAME. BACK DOWN MISTER

Tony, - nothing meant to you at all - I'm just trying to answer the lovely Tara in sequence. Psssst Tara - just between you and me ok? { Regretfully, I never did have anything whatsoever to do with the FOD}. However, to have had worked with someone having the passion of our Mary McElroy, would have been the experience of a lifetime. Sure, there are wonderful and devoted members of SOD, but Mary it seems took the fight directly to the people and did let them decide. The dream was awoken by the hard fact of not everyone agrees with every issue - especially where costs are concerned. I do know one Tara in town, but it sure isn't you.

I WAS THERE for hours at the polls election day and the men urging people to vote yes on the FOD issue were gentlemen albeit not very polished. They were military veterans, Dads and just Americans like you and I not politicians. They meant no harm at all. Sorry you had a bad experience with very good parents just trying to help Mary. and BTW, give the lady a break.I think she has been through enough with the loss.

A referendum is a electoral devices by which voters may express their wishes with regard to government policy or proposed legislation. Referendums can be phrased as wished, thereby, even if we don't own a property the voters can be asked if the opportunity arises, again, to purchased this property should we or shouldn't we.

I pretty much agree that over development is a bad thing - really not good at all. But respectfully Sir, New Milford hasn't been a hamlet since 1960. As for our SOD friends trying to keep this from turning into Camden; have you been to Camden, it is one one of, if not the most dangerous cities in the country. And Camden didn't get that way by being over developed. In fact, along the river where it is developed, it's a rather nice place. I know this because (due to the business that I'm in) I see several baseball games each summer at Campbell's Field, a very nice family friendly venue.
If you want to keep New Milford from becoming a dirty city, condemn Brookchester.

The whole town benefits from increased property values if a good athletic facility is built. People who sell their homes will get more money. If they don't want to sell, then their heirs will get higher prices. The kids are playing for fun but should be able to play on a field that is not hazardous. The current fields are all unplayable after any rain. Even the high school game had to be played at Dumont last night. But the field should be by the high school, not the middle school.

I would imagine that Coming from NYC and WNY would make New Milford look like the sticks, but the place that I'm looking to retire to would consider New Milford the big, evil city.
And for the record, Camden is in no way a nice place. The ball park is nice, however. The city is really frightful. I try to catch day light games only, but I have been there at night, and the thing that I learned is not to stop at the traffic lights; you will get shot at. The company for which you worked sounds like a people friendly place - STAY OUT OF CAMDEN! Seriously, you are better off never having been there. As for me, my life was easier when the Newark Bears were in the Atlantic League, but to see those games now, it's either Camden or Bridgeport.
I have lived in New Milford for 55 years, and let me tell you, I have seen this town change radically.
On weekends, I run, my route takes me through Brookchester, and from when my wife and I lived there 35 years or so ago, that place now resembles the projects. Now, that isn't to say that every inch of the joint is bad, but rememer, when this was built in 1950, no one thought that the place would still be standing today.