Ridgewood updates fields policy: tighter scheduling, insurance minimums and added facilities including school spaces

The Village Council reviewed an extensively revised Fields Policy on March 4 designed to modernize scheduling, clarify insurance requirements and coordinate village and school-district facility use.

Parks & Recreation Director Nancy Beos said the 2026 draft updates an eight-year-old policy to reflect new facility inventory (including pickleball courts, renovated tennis facilities and a pavilion) and new usage patterns. The policy requires recognized groups to submit seasonal reservations 45 days before a season begins, mandates digital scheduling through the Master Library platform, and sets an explicit insurance minimum of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate (the aggregate level remained the same as in the 2018 policy while the per-occurrence minimum is now defined in the draft). Nancy credited recreation staff, especially David Wild, for implementing the Master Library scheduling system.

Other changes codify conduct rules (prohibitions on vaping, chewing gum and sunflower seeds), update lightning and weather protocols (including the contracted Perry weather system), clarify dog policies and integrate permanent lighting policies rather than previously used portable light towers. Councilmembers asked about the disposition of portable light towers; staff said most rented towers were returned to vendors and some privately owned towers are still used occasionally at specified fields.

The council praised staff and the joint village–Board of Education committee for completing the document; staff said recognized groups received the draft twice in February and that only limited feedback was returned. Several operational clarifications and final edits remain before the policy is finalized and implemented.