Politics & Government

Town Council Bids Fields Issue A FOD Farewell

Many thanked the mayor for bringing the matter of field condition to the public.

The Parsippany Town Council took a brief look back at its activities surrounding the controversial Fields of Dreams proposal. The idea is now history, given the at and high schools.

At the May 15 council meeting at , Michael Pietrowicz, a town committee member who was a driving force behind the Fields of Dreams idea spoke on the issue before the public and town leaders.

"I want to commend the Town Council and the mayor for your interest, your time, for lingering through lots of discussions, for picking up an issue of interest to many people in this town," he said. "And Mayor, thank you specifically for trying to find a solution ... to create the opportunity to improve our fields, and for doing it on a platform not to raise taxes and sticking to it.

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Pietrowicz noted that there was a lot of public debate over the matter. He praised Mayor Barberio for taking much criticism.

"Quite honestly, Mayor, you stuck your neck out because of your passion, your love and your commitment to this community, not only for us in this room, but for the generations of kids who'll be playing on those fields," he said. "I think everybody in this room now recognize in a very public way that something must be done.

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"I applaud the Board of Education for moving forward with a referendum and poutting it out for every person to hear and hopefully to support. It's important for our kids and it's important for our future."

Council Member Michael dePierro said he backed the mayor's turf field plan because of the longstanding conditions of the fields.

"Back in the 70s when I was on the school board and in the Boosters Club, the fields were a disgrace," he recalled. "It was the Boosters who put in the lights and the scoreboard at Parsippany High and built the concession stand. When I tried to get the fields fixed, I was told the money had to go toward education for our students, not to the fields."

DePierro said he tried a different tack, asking the Boosters to investigate what needed to be done to fix the fields.

"What I learned was that the Parsippany High School field is mostly clay. Even if you aerate it, you wouldn't accomplish anything. Parsippany Hills High School's field has a different problem; it's all rock with dirt," he said. "For all these years, many of our children who played at other fields were ashamed when kids from other schools would see our fields. So when Mayor Barberio proposed a solution to fixing those fields and bringing pride back to our kids, I jumped on it."

DePierro said he is "gratified" to see the school board taking on the responsibility, "which they've had all these years anyway."

Council President Brian Stanton shared a similar view.

"I've gone to games at the Hills and games at the High," he said. "When it rains once, the season's over for the field. The water stays there until the last game.

"I applaud the Board of Education for taking a hold of this issue, but the only reason they are is because of Mayor Barberio. Without his plans, this wouldn't be going forward at all," Stanton said.

The mayor reflected on the battle, which, for the public, began in December 2011.

"There was a dream here," he said. "I was approached by a resident, a volunteer who dedicated much of his life to the community and football and other sports. He came into my office with a vision. That was Michael Pietrowicz."

Barberio said his only caveat was that he did not want to raise taxes.

"We came up with a plan, I thought it was a very good plan," he said. "Our goal was to make our fields safer for our children; to have a shared service agreement, which is what the state has been looking for us to do; and to bring pride back to Parsippany.

"I respect the Board of Education decision. They decided they didn't want to have a shared services agreement and that they wanted to do this on their own. I respect them for that. That's fine. I wish they'd let me know that five months ago."

The mayor went on to praise the council for standing by him and for listening to public input.

"We had a lot of people for and against it. That's democracy in action," the mayor said. "Even those against it remain friends and that's the whole process. Whatever happens, I love this town and hope it works out in the end."

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