Commission hears drainage, stormwater and timing concerns for Memorial Park and Highland Avenue project

Commissioners at the June 22 Park and Recreation meeting were told a baseball diamond adjacent to Memorial Park frequently floods and that solving the problem will be complex and costly.

The DPW director described the diamond as "underwater" in some high-water-table conditions and said earlier band-aid drainage work provided partial relief but does not capture groundwater or the full flow from the adjacent slope. "We really need to peel everything back and put in water and then regrade everything so that works," an engineer‑oriented staff speaker said, summarizing options under consideration.

Participants discussed two paths: a short-term mitigation that would reduce seasonal impacts but still be a substantial expense, and a more substantial capital project that would include infiltration systems, regrading and possibly stormwater best-management practices tied to the engineering division. The DPW director estimated that band‑aid fixes are not cheap and full remediation could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars; one participant referenced a roughly $500,000 total for comprehensive work.

Commissioners noted a possible tie to a larger Highland Avenue state funding program that could include pedestrian and bicycle amenities; staff cautioned that inclusion in that program is uncertain, that the state requires certain design elements, and that the Highland Avenue project is unlikely to be funded and constructed within the next five years. Because a separate town water project will temporarily take water offline in the area, commissioners and staff said they need to identify interim field availability for varsity sports and consider renting offsite fields if necessary.

Staff asked to work with the engineering division to refine a scope and cost estimate, to explore CPC and stormwater funding sources where eligible, and to return to the commission with a recommended sequencing (short-term mitigation vs. capital replacement) and likely costs.