Mayor Stout: the township hopes to find a contractor sometime this summer
By: Michelle McGuinness
Cranbury Township hopes to pick someone this summer to build its long-awaited Babe Ruth League baseball field.
Almost a year after completing soil remediation on arsenic found at the site, next to the Cranbury School, the Township Committee received a no-further-action letter from the state Department of Environmental Protection in April and can begin work on the field, committee members said Monday.
The letter could revitalize an effort that began in 2002 when plans for the field were delayed because high levels of arsenic were found at the Wright South property.
In January 2006, the committee approved a $200,000 bond ordinance to pay for the field, but progress on the field’s construction remained stagnant while the township awaited an NFA letter, which would certify that the soil was no longer contaminated.
Though the original contractor on the project, Bob Brown, has since retired, the township can start bidding for a new contractor now. Mayor David Stout said the township hopes to find a contractor sometime this summer.
Committeewoman Pari Stave said she hopes grass will be planted for the field this fall. She said the grass would require a year to take root before it could be played on and she hopes the entire project could finish in the next year.
Mayor Stout said the field will be available for the Cranbury School’s baseball team, but will be open to others as well.
"It’ll be used by the Babe Ruth League as well as others who can make use of a regulation baseball field," he said.
The field will be built to Babe Ruth League standards, meaning it will be the same size as a major league baseball field.
In the meantime, Middlesex County has started investigating various ideas not only for the field itself, but also the area around it, which Mayor Stout said the township may turn into a village green. Mayor Stout described the village green as an open space in the heart of town. He said it could contain a walking trail, as well as the baseball field.
Ms. Stave said any additions to the green other than the field are still only ideas and have not been finalized.