August - September 2002 Edition 

Lighting the Fields    By Chris Neidenberg       In acting on a request from a municipal recreational facilities review committee, the Borough Council is applying for $75,000 in state matching funds to install lights on two fields. The strategy is tied to renovating other fields which would be shut down, while night games would be played on the two sites.    At a recent council work session, members voted 4-1 to seek funds from a statewide pool dedicated to open space preservation and administered by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The council wants $37,500 to help fund lights at "Center Rec," a facility at Fair Lawn High School, and the same amount for Memorial Field in Memorial Park.    Mayor David L. Ganz explained that youth baseball and soccer programs are held in the two facilities. With the lights, he explained, games played at other sites - considered in decline - would be moved to these two locations. Borough officials noted that the lights will give the municipality's recreation department scheduling flexibility in adding games - that would be diverted from other sites.    Yet, to obtain the monies, Fair Lawn will have to spend $75,000 of its own funds (for a total cost of $150,000).   Deputy Mayor Martin Etler complained that the price tag is too high, even though half of the borough's costs would be defrayed with the grants, and voted "no." The committee, proposed earlier this year at Deputy Mayor Steve Weinstein's request, consists of recreation volunteers and employees with the public works and park departments. It evaluated the state of the municipality's parks and playing fields and offered recommendations to the governing body.   Councilman Allan Caan hailed the initiative. "Ultimately, in the long run, it will probably save us some money by doing this," said Caan, adding, "We will be able to do things which need to be done by taking them (declining fields) out of service." Weinstein agreed. "In doubling use of the other fields (Center Red and Memorial), you will help all," he explained. "It's a need, not a luxury."   Etler rejected the cost-saving logic. "I just think $75,000, even with the grant, is a lot of money," he told colleagues. Yet Ganz insisted that any town money used for the purpose is a sound investment. "It is a lot of bucks," the mayor told Etler. "They're capital expenses and they benefit kids who use the facilities." Ultimately, the council rejected seeking a third $65,000 matching grant to demolish a section of Brookdale Park. Ganz told Weinstein he feared that adding a third request could lower the borough's chances of obtaining monies for the two other sites, considered a greater priority.