KINGSTON, N.Y. — School district officials have approved spending $17,700 on a master plan for maintenance and use of athletic fields.
KSQ Design was hired Wednesday, May 8, to develop the guidelines during a Board of Education meeting.
“This is something we talked about last year when we started looking at not having Dietz (Stadium) and how could we better use the facilities and the fields that we have,” Superintendent Paul Padalino said.
The move come a year after dealing with drainage problems and other wear issues that came from additional use for games and practices on seven fields when Dietz Stadium was closed for renovations at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.
Officials spent $3,000 last year for a review of the problems and get recommendations that helped prepare for the current year’s sports schedule.
“We did a nice job working with our consultant taking care of the fields we have but are we … utilizing them in the best way possible and the most efficient way possible,” Padalino said. “We’re looking for the master plan to … (determine) are we using the acreage that we have effectively. Are fields positioned correctly? Is there wasted space?”
The review would include what schedules should be implemented over overuse and whether synthetic surfaces can be used for some of the fields.
“They’re going to give us a broad report and many different options for us to think about,” Padalino said. “We talked about doing this maybe 10 years ago. We never did it and now we really regret it, so we’re going to get this done.”
Overall, the district has four open fields behind Crosby Elementary School, one open field and Gruner Field for baseball behind M. Clifford Miller Middle School, and two open fields behind Chambers Elementary School. Practices and competitions also take place at Kingston High School, he Hudson River Maritime Museum, Wiltwyck Golf Course, Kingston Plaza Field, and Loughran Park.
Officials expect that wear and tear will be reduced on the fields at Chambers, Crosby and Miller schools when Dietz Stadium reopens in August but adjustments are likely until all the renovations are completed.
“If we need to use lockerrooms … we can use the Andretta Pool lockers rooms during the fall and we’re just going to bring our portable bathrooms from Miller … over to Dietz for that time,” Padalino said.
District officials are also expected to develop a better system for determining how Dietz Stadium use will be coordinated with Kingston city officials.
“They are working out the kinks on how they can cooperate … and get a little more modern in how we manage the scheduling,” Padalino said.
