A drainage project has left Ely Field in poor condition.
By: Linda Seida
LAMBERTVILLE The Lambertville Ramblers Youth Football League will have to find another place to practice and play for at least three weeks into the football season while its home at Ely Memorial Field is made safe enough to play on, according to an official of the Lambertville Recreation Commission.
The commission had hoped to have the field ready in time, but repairs made to remedy longstanding poor drainage conditions were not started in time, said Robert Pierman, a member of the commission.
"We played on it last year, and it was horrendous," Mr. Pierman said, describing the field as nothing but mud.
Now, as a new football season draws near, the Ramblers are looking for temporary alternatives while they wait for the field to come up to snuff, he said.
The problems at the field began at least five years ago, according to Mr. Pierman and David Wintermute, who heads the commission. That was when the state Department of Transportation began a storm water drainage project on Delaware Avenue.
The project aimed to collect storm water that ran off Music Mountain toward Lambertville Public School and Ely Memorial Field, which is adjacent to the school. Workers installed a 7-foot-wide pipe to collect runoff and carry it to the river. The state’s contractor at the time was responsible for making sure the field was left in good order.
Contractors used part of Ely Field as a base of operations and stored pipes there, adding to the problem, Mr. Pierman said.
"Long story short, part of the deal was you fix the field as good as, if not better, than when you took it over," Mr. Wintermute said of the contractor’s agreement.
And fixing the field involved grading and seeding.
"The biggest problem was they screwed up the grading," Mr. Wintermute said. "I don’t know where they learned grading."
In addition, the soil used was of poor quality.
"It never grew grass," he said. "It grew weeds real well, though. It impacted the Ramblers’ program pretty bad."
William Rush of the DOT, resident engineer for the drainage project, said Tuesday the problems on the field were not the fault of Carbro Constructors of Hillsborough, the latest in a series of contractors to have worked on the project.
"It was weather related, really," Mr. Rush said. "First the field flooded, then the drought just did us in. The early spring flood last year evidently deterred grass from germinating. Then weeds got ahead of us and choked out any possibility of grass taking over."
Last week, Carbro’s subcontractor, Aspen Landscaping, roto-tilled the field, raked rocks and weeds away, then raked the surface clear.
"And we decided to sod the football area and to see, fertilize and mulch the outer fringes of the field," Mr. Rush said.
"So far they look like they were really meticulous," Mr. Wintermute said.
Last year, the Ramblers made use of donated seed and volunteer time and labor to try to remedy the problem. But the soil used on the site would not support a decent growth of grass.
"You would have had a better shot of growing grass in the middle of the highway," Mr. Wintermute said.
He added, "Several months ago, the Ramblers were irate."
The commission appealed to the City Council and enlisted the aid of Mayor David Del Vecchio.
"He did make a difference," Mr. Wintermute said.
With some phone calls and a little influence from the mayor, repairs were made to the damaged field, and frustrations were eased.
Mr. Wintermute credited the mayor with getting the DOT to re-evaluate the field’s condition. The DOT agreed a problem remained, despite previous efforts to grade and sod.
"Bottom line is they agreed to do it right, and they agreed to sod the field," Mr. Wintermute said.
Mr. Pierman was reluctant to place blame. He said the contractor responsible for regrading, Carbro, along with the company’s owners, brothers Anthony and Joseph Caruso, is "one of the good guys."
Poor spring weather conditions delayed the field’s restoration. Now, with new sod recently placed at the field, it must be watered and cared for. Volunteers are taking care of that with the help of watering equipment lent to them by Carbro.
"It should have been done back in May," not in the past weeks, he said. "It’s going to be a tough year. It’s late."
"Yesterday (Sunday) seven guys went there," Mr. Pierman said.
All volunteers, they watered and cared for the field, which he noted is labor and time intensive.
"They’re doing whatever they can to expedite it," he said.
Is everyone satisfied with the remedy?
"We’ll wait and see if it holds up," Mr. Pierman said.