Here’s a letter sent today to our City officials by the leaders of the youth athletics programs in Newton. Here’s a link to the petition. Here’s a link to comments received from members of the community.
The Honorable Ruthanne Fuller, Mayor of the City of Newton
Newton City Council
Newton Parks and Recreation Commission
Newton Programs and Services Committee
Dear Mayor Fuller,
I write to you on behalf of the Newton Athletic Fields Foundation (www.FixNewtonsFields.com) to seek your formal commitment to Fix Newton’s Fields. Leaders in Newton’s Athletic community have been voicing concerns for years about the dangerously sub-par conditions, inequitable management of and dire need for action with Newton’s athletic fields. Despite repeated attempts to convey the message and collaboratively address the issues (discussions with you, members of your administration and members of the City Council, attending both committee and public meetings, hiring consulting firms to provide expertise and providing inputs to the OSRP) negligible progress has been made.
Since the voices of our Athletic Program Leaders have been ignored, we have engaged members of the community to bolster our support. To date, we have 1,000 signatures on the attached petition asking you to “Fix Newton’s Fields”. Also attached is a selection of the 100+ comments we received from Newton residents. The message we received was unambiguous: Newton is a laggard in athletic facilities.
In a time when most of our children spend their entire school day in front of a computer screen, athletics is one of the few available outlets. Athletic fields are by far one of Newton’s most utilized resources, yet the needs of athletes and the benefits of sports do not garner any attention in comparison to other programs and projects in our city.
The City’s lack of commitment is clear in the recently published Capital Improvement Plan that had no funding for multi-purpose field projects. It is also demonstrated by what appears to be a refusal to bring athletic facility projects to the Community Preservation Committee (currently managing $10 million in CPA funding) where athletic facilities are statutorily permitted purposes.
We look forward to your formal response on the specific steps you will take to ensure a plan is authored and a date by which we can expect its delivery for review.
Sincerely,
Justin Traxler, President Newton Girls Soccer, Founder Newton Athletic Fields Foundation
John Stephans, President, Newton Youth Soccer
Larry Casillo, President, Newton Youth Lacrosse
Sam Figler, Member, Newton Park and Recreation Commission, Director, Newton Youth Lacrosse
Nancy Sweatt, President, Newton Girls Lacrosse
Fran Yerardi, Founder, Girls LAX Newton
Eric Busa, Director, Newton Mustangs Football
Burt Granovsky, Head Coach, Newton Youth Ultimate
Jacob Groshek, Founder, Commissioner Newton Area Flag Football
This is important. The playing fields are just as much a municipal asset as the roads and the sidewalks; although usage of them is specialized in other ways. They are used by thousands of youth players, but also the high school teams. Like other assets, they deserve a thorough and thoughtful plan for maintenance and rehabilitation. Without that, they become safety hazards or otherwise interfere with important physical activities needed by our population. It is hard to understand why they fall to the bottom of the priority list for city attention. Perhaps this coalition of youth athletic organizations and the many petitioners can help bring political attention to this issue. There are ways to increase the funding for these assets and have a multi-year strategic approach to their maintenance and upgrades without dipping into the general revenues of the city. It should be a no-brainer to do so.
Noble cause, but honestly the city has way too many issues it needs to address right now.
Commercial stores/restaurants hanging by threads
Some residents struggling to pay rent/mortgage
Rezoning sucking up all the oxygen
Looming pension liability
Return in to in person schooling
New senior center
In the scope of things, this is definitely lower in the scheme of things. In normal times, would definitely agree
Too be honest, this is coming of a little tone deaf cringy given the current pandemic
Disagree. Totally relevant, especially during the pandemic. Physical activity by children is key to their health. Get out on the fields sometime, as I did all fall refereeing the boys and girls soccer games.
I agree with Paul and the authors of this letter. We are heading into the worst 3 months of this pandemic and it’s coming at a time of year when the weather is also dicey. But even in winter, there are plenty of days when it’s possible to get outside and the playing fields are the best single resource for all kinds of team sports for our young students as long as they can be played safely. Adults can find alternatives, but most kids thrive on team sports and interaction with their peers. I’m making alternative arrangements for when the Newton Y closes down which I believe it inevitable. I can do this, but it’s simply not that easy for kids to do likewise.
@Paul Levy @Bob Burke thank you and yes absolutely the kids need sports and interactions, especially now. The fields in Newton compared to other towns are pathetic. Thank you to the authors of this petition.
I can attest as a youth sports referee our fields are in serious need of TLC. I applaud these parents for speaking up and look forward to working with them as a city councilor to prioritize fixing our fields.
Paul,
The “newton” bubble is real. The fields are available, they are just in crappy condition… as they are in less affluent neighborhoods and 3rd world countries. Yet kids still are able to get some form of excersise.
I dont disagree with the concerns, only the timing…
Not sure what’s wrong with the timing. We’re not talking about diverting resources from other priorities. This is just an important to one constituency as the senior center is to another. (I’m in both, by the way!) Why wait? (Note also that field work contributes to employment. It’s a good time to make investments that have lasting benefits and create jobs.)
We have a lot of new residents coming into the city from already approved developments, not to mention what might happen under zoning redesign. We need to be planning ahead because we currently do not have enough field space to meet demand – what happens when we have even more people, of all ages, by the way, not just kids — wanting to use them?
I feel like Parks & Rec have fallen by the wayside in the past few years. The quality of the fields and playgrounds, notably. The playground equipment seems tired at a lot of the playgrounds.
Also: Remember those Picnic and Play at the Park events hosted by the Setti Warren administration? Those seemed to dwindle little by little after he left office. (I understand why they didn’t exist this year, obviously)
We have been underfunding our playing fields for years and this needs to change. Recently, the Parks & Recreation Commissioner, Nicole Banks has reconstituted a Field Sub Committee to analyze data on field conditions, maintenance and group use/needs and to explore actions that can be undertaken to improve field conditions. This is a step in the right direction. I’m also advocating for exploring projects that would be eligible for CPA funding. We need more fields with lights as well as better field quality. We can do this!
As a former Little League parent, the state of the fields have much to be desired, but City income is finite. Who needs to be laid off so we can fund Field upgrades? Or do we vote for a raise in property taxes? Or can we ask the recently approved Developers to contribute?
The revenue has to come from somewhere and wishful thinking is not a tangible, monetary form of currency and no amount of signatures is going to change that. Not saying this is not needed, but just that it should come with a realistic plan.
PS @Justin, surprised not to see neither the Little League Baseball nor Softball Leauge leaders sign on to this.
Matt, CPA funding is already in the bank. It’s use does not reallocate other money from the city budget. Certain athletic field upgrades are eligible projects but have not received support from the Administration. Note, in contrast, how quickly funding for Webster Woods was proposed by the Mayor and approved by the CPA board.
Other cities and towns charge youth leagues for use of the fields. We don’t. A modest fee per participant could raise a lot of money, year after year. It would not represent a hardship for the vast majority of families. For those of limited incomes, all leagues already give fee forgiveness.
Every other city and town in our region charges $10 to $30 per player per season. If Newton charged the leagues $25 per player it would raise about $150,000 per year. That would more than double the budget currently allocated by the Mayor and Council. More here: https://village14.com/2019/09/20/now-what-about-the-fields/
Also, we dramatically undercharge for-profit organizations for their use of the fields. More here: https://village14.com/2020/07/24/its-always-been-that-way/
Let me try and address the “How can we pay for this stuff?” question:
CPA funds are intended to be used for a variety of projects including athletics. To date, Newton has been stingy with using CPA funds for athletic projects (I have never been provided a reason for this). There does not appear to be an impact on home prices in Newton from the pandemic which should make CPA funding a secure source. Interest rates are at historic levels so borrowing now against CPA funding is also a reasonable approach that has been used for other CPA projects.
CPA funds for those who do not know are generated by a 1% surcharge on property taxes. For every $100 in property taxes we pay, there is an extra dollar paid to the Newton CPA fund. The state matches some funding although that will be low to zero for a few years I suspect. Nearly $4M is put into the CPA every year and that number will only go up over time given the new housing developments, rise in RE prices, larger homes replacing smaller homes, tax increases, etc. One CPA revenue model I’ve reviewed had new funds up to over $6M by 2030.
For more information:
https://www.newtonma.gov/government/planning/community-preservation-program/about-the-cpa
https://www.newtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument?id=39611
https://www.communitypreservation.org/
Given how far behind we are with our facilities, it would be reasonable to commit CPA funding each year to an athletic facility project. We’ve joked that there are some facilities (such as the lights at Albemarle) that are so old that they could well qualify for CPA “Historic Restoration” funding at this point.
Newton needs to start being creative on other funding sources such as sponsors, private funding, field rental fees and partnering directly with the youth programs including the NPS athletic programs (surprisingly the fees paid for athletics at NPS never go into the PRC budget). Over the years, donations have been made from youth programs to support capital projects. There have not been to my knowledge attempts for leaders from the city and athletics to work on a longer range plan. Other cities have used models that create partnerships with their athletic programs. Let’s at least explore what those could be.
It looked like the city council had the opportunity to reduce the police budget to help save money for areas likes Parks & Rec. I followed the Black Lives Matter campaign here in Auburndale and I was impressed by councilors Norton, Noel and Humphrey who tried valiantly to make the point to their colleagues Malakie, Gentile, Baker, Laredo, Grossman, Auchincloss, Downs, and Leary, that Newton Fields and outdoor space were just as important important to the community as the police budget. The Police budget passed in full color and other areas had to be cut again, like the Newton Fields support. Which is a darn shame.
@Tarik, since you are running for the council seat can you tell us how you would have voted. Would you have voted for the full police budget in agreement with Gentile, Baker, Malakie, & Laredo or would you have voted to reduce the police budget on the side of Norton, Noel and Humphrey to help Parks & Rec?
thanks
-Al Gross
My children are all grown so I can tell you this is not a new issue. Anyone who coached sports or was involved where the kids traveled out of town to play heard the same story. “ This ( insert name of city/ town’s) fields are beautiful. Look. Bathrooms. Concession stands. Lights. Flat even fields that are well tended No divots or holes for the kids to stumble in. “. And from visiting parents and coaches; “This is Newton? Seriously? When did they last cut the grass? What’s with the bald spots ? Where do we go the bathroom? What ? A restaurant down the street or a Dunkin Donuts further down the road? We can pick up a water there also ? “.
It doesn’t need to be over the top but I think we can do better than we have been. Perhaps stop trying to buy the woods from BC and redirect the funds
CPA funds have recently been used to support the private purchase (by non-profits) of several old houses (one currently housing the Suzuki School) and just approved a proposal to fund the rebuilding of Grace Church’s steeple (privately owned religious building).
I’d rather the CPA money was spent on our public resources, like playing fields.
CPA money comes from taxes paid by Massachusetts residents and is distributed to those communities, like Newton, who opt into the program with an added tax on their residents.
One clarification on Justin Traxler’s comments. The CPA fund is not ” generated by a 1% surcharge on property taxes.” rather it’s a 1% surcharge on the sale of a property, with additional (variable) matching funds from the state.
Jerry, I believe Justin is right. It is built into our property tax.
Of all the times, this is the time to invest in parks and recreational facilities. We live in a city, a nation, and a time of great disparity. Disparity of wealth, disparity of work, disparity of opportunity, disparity of hope. The pandemic has only amplified these disparities, but the disparities have always been there.
Civic institutions are the equalizer. They are open and welcome to all. Our parks and recreational facilities are the crossroads where we can all meet. They allow us – as individuals, kids, and families – to come together without the barriers that otherwise separate us and divide us. Even in our current social isolation, they have been a godsend for people to get exercise and fresh air.
As we begin to recover from COVID’s social distancing over the next few years, we will need to bridge our social gaps, to heal our civic wounds. If we don’t, we’ll lose a core piece of what makes us a community. The pride and utility that comes with outstanding civic and recreational spaces are key ingredients in restoring our city.
This is an investment we need, whether it be in athletic fields, parks, open spaces, or indoor spaces. We need it for everyone. We need it for us. We need it to be made whole again.
@Newtoner, @Justin Traxler – My mistake. Yes the CPA in Newton is levied as a surcharge on property tax, not on the sale of a property. Thanks for the correction.
@Justin T-
It’s been a while since I’ve thought about the CPA, but if my memory
is correct, CPA funds can be used for Open Space, Affordable Housing &
Historical preservation. I can’t remember if CPA funds are divided equally among the 3 categories or not. The CPA is a tax on property taxes, and communities can choose to increase the size of that tax from 1
percent up to 3 percent. I believe
Newton is currently funding the CPA at the 1 percent level.
Since its inception, the CPA has funded a wide variety of projects all over the city in each of the 3 categories. A visit to the CPA portion of the City of Newton website will provide details of the specific projects the CPA has funded in Newton.
CPA funds can be used for community housing, historic preservation, open space protection, and outdoor recreation, including rehabilitation of existing parks, playgrounds and athletic fields. https://www.newtonma.gov/government/planning/community-preservation-program/about-the-cpa
For me the calculus is simple – Newton is falling behind in many areas where we should be investing in our future generations – playing fields for kids. Schools for kids. It’s all connected.
Recovery from the pandemic seems like a perfect opportunity to reboot our city and build back better!! Mayor Fuller – this needs your attention!!
Great to hear so much support here for this proposal. What is sometimes lost in interesting arguments about density, and nonsense topics like defunding the police, is the fact that most people live in Newton to raise children.
It is important that those of us that prioritize schools and outdoor activities for our kids consistently convey those demands to our elected officials. The reason why Needham and Wellesley have better facilities is due in no small part to their avoidance of performative politics at municipal level, and their willingness to put the needs of residents, and especially kids, first.