Somerville Neighbors press Village hall to end weekend baseball at school
…the fly has learned that a well organized effort is underway by a group of neighbors to shame the Council into forbidding use of fields at Somerville fields . Lots of unsubstantiated charges are being thrown around including one that players and umpires have been peeing in the bushes.Neighbors even told the BOE and Mayor that people shouldn’t park on her street if they have games at Somerville.
Attacks have been particularly harsh on the Church League that plays on Sundays .
and while many sympathize with the homeowners their expectation do seem a bit out of line given the fact that they purchased property adjacent a school and to public sports field .
Is it just a case of a small band of neighbors looking enforce their will and bully other taxpayers Or is there something far more sinister at play against the Church League? Or maybe a secret plot to ad turf fields west of 17? Lawyers are suiting up and port a potties have been dispatched .
It is annoying having men screaming at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning (Hawes field as well). I know they are there to have fun, but there needs to be some restrictions on when they can play.
Later start times. No one should be awakened on a Sunday morning. Let the church people spend Sunday morning in church and praying to become better neighbors.
If “it is annoying to someone” were the standard for prohibiting activities, we would not be allowed to do much of anything in this town. I can understand seeking a slightly later start time for games and for more outdoor toilets at the fields, but to argue that people should not be allowed to play sports on sports fields is not a credible position.
Later start time on Sundays is an excellent idea, i said the same thing when my child had to play at 9am and this was a good many years ago. Keep in mind that the sports people always seem to have away around everything.
BOE and Village should across the board institute a restriction on all properties that NO activities take place before noon on Sundays.
when I was growing up there was an ordinance in the village that you could not play baseball on Sunday, so if the Saturday game got rained out you couldn’t play it on Sunday, that was modified to no games before 12 on Sunday then that all went by the wayside in the 70’s Perhaps it’s time to rethink what we do now maybe the past was better.
“They moved next to a this.” “They moved next to a that.” “They should have expected noise and endless disruption and have no right to complain.”
Did the Valley fight not make a dent?
Proximity is the way this entire town was constructed. What needs to be banned is any further mention of NIMBY. But in any case, people moving near a school have every right to expect quiet on most weekends and all summer–not the opposite.
Both homeowners played the “public urination” card.
Really ?
The church league is co-ed and most games are watched by young family members.
Presumably Karch and his neighbor, Miss Scarlett, have cellphones with cameras…? Take a picture next time.
When the urine trick didn’t work they dropped the “..we’ll let the lawyers settle it” threat on the Mayor, the BoE and the new town manager.
I agree with #7 – don’t take the “you moved next to a ______ so you should tolerate anything that goes on there” approach. This strategy failed miserably with Valley. Seems like there should be a much easier compromise here.
I thought they were the BOED fields and they have control.
If only there were more ball fields.
Start later and put in port a potties. How can we allow public urination on school property?
I an not sure if it was an ordinance or a Bd of Ed policy but there were guidelines that prohibited BOE field usage on Sunday mornings until noon. However, the recent revamp of the field usage policies which was broadly vetted, changed that. This Sunday morning usage went almost unnoticed due to the ruckus over the field lighting.