New Warwick Ball Field Location is 218 Yards From Runway
Monday, August 24, 2015
As part of the runway expansion of T.F. Green Airport, a major concern was the relocation of the Winslow Ball Fields, since runway expansion requires the real estate where the fields were previously located. The new ball fields will be located alongside the airport, just to the northeast, about 220 yards from the runway.
The relocation has some city residents and city officials questioning why the ball fields weren't put in a place further away from the airport.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"The rationale for the airport buying up homes around the airport was supposed to be because the jet engines were so loud that they disturbed the residents. So doesn't it stand to reason that the loudness from the jet engines would disturb the children playing ball? And then there's the fumes from the airplanes that will be causing pollution over the fields," said Janice Pangman, a Warwick resident who lives literally right next door to the new Winslow Sports Complex.
(Pangman also isn't thrilled about the fact that the tree line that was previously there, before the ball fields were constructed, is no longer there to protect her property from noise and pollution. The trees were taken down to make room for the new fields.)
The 9 ball fields, where more than 1,000 Warwick youngsters take part in soccer, softball, and baseball games every year, were previously located in the just south of the airport at the tip of Main avenue--also in close proximity to both the airport and the runway.
The Status Quo
With that in mind, Patti Goldstein, the Vice President of Public Affairs for the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, said that the new location of the fields will pose no threat to the safety of the children or anyone else for that matter.
Goldstein noted that the previous ball fields were also located in the runway protection zone, and that the children of Warwick have played baseball there for literally decades without incident. She also said that the proper studies showing that the location will be safe have been performed by various regulatory agencies.
"The ball fields have been in the runway protection zone for years," said Goldstein.
Goldstein isn't the only person who isn't concerned with the new location. Doyle Byrd, the President of the Warwick Firefighters Soccer League, an organization that will use the fields going forward, agreed with Goldstein's assessment in an emailed memo to the parents of the children that take play in the soccer league earlier this year.
"I truly think (new) Winslow will be better than previous, even though it is sad to no longer be going to where so many of us have seen our kids grow up. We will start a new phase for Warwick Firefighters Soccer Club, one that I hope will be longer lasting than the previous one which was about 20 years at old Winslow," wrote Byrd in a recent memo to parents.
A Missed Opportunity
Some city officials, however, tend to agree more with Pangman's assessment.
Warwick City Councilman Steve Merolla (Ward-9), said that the relocation of the fields to a position close to the airport runway was frustrating because the expansion of the runway represented an opportunity to get the ball fields away from the airport's noise, pollution, and general annoyances. But that chance was squandered, he said.
"We basically went from frying pan into the fire," said Merolla. "Everybody knows there's carcinogens emitted from the gas and the fumes from those jet engines. People are right to be concerned."
What's The Rationale?
According to councilwoman Camille Vella-Wilkinson, who represents the council ward in question (Ward-3), and led committee that dealt with the relocation of the fields, said that the location is far from ideal, but was superior to the alternative of not having anywhere for the children to play.
"Is it ideal? No. I think the perfect place was at CCRI (Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick) and we went every place we could go and to every person who held any sway or influence over the Board of Governors, but in the end we just weren't successful," said Vella-Wilkinson.
Not Ideal
When the city council voted to challenge the "record of decision" by the Federal Aviation Administration a few years ago, the relocation of the baseball fields was a major part of that decision. The council then voted to go into negotiations with the Rhode Island Airport Corporation to resolve the issue. Vella-Wilkinson led the three-person council committee to try and resolve the issue. Merolla and then-council president Bruce place were also members. Vella-Wilkinson was the point person on the issue.
Vella-Wilkinson described feeling extremely frustrated with the CCRI Board of Governors, who refused to consent and allow the city ball fields to be located on property. Vella-Wilkinson said that she didn't find their arguments very convincing. The school said that there was too much "ledge", or bedrock there to be able to create the amount of fields the city needed. Most shockingly, the school even told Vella-Wilkinson that they wanted to keep the option of one day creating dorm rooms on the Warwick campus, so that students would eventually be able live there.
"I was wondering if they knew what the concept of a community college was," she said.
No Other Options?
With the school balking at helping the city, Vella-Wilkinson said that the city didn't have any other options to create the amount of fields they needed. The other places, she said, didn't have the amount of space, or it would have been cost prohibitive to build them, she said.
"Trust me when I say we looked," said Vella-Wilkinson.
Councilman Merolla, however, said that he told Vella-Wilkinson that he would help her make sure the fields were located at CCRI, but she told him that she had the situation under control. Merolla wonders if he would have been able to help negotiate to make that a reality.
Vella-Wilkinson, in describing the process, doesn't think that that would have been the case.
Loud, But Safe
Asked if she believes the new location of the Winslow Park Ball Fields makes sense given their proximity to the runway, she said she understands the concerns about the noise. With respect to pollution, Vella-Wilkinson said that she remembers hearing officials from the Rhode Island Department of Health say that the air quality for a ball field would be acceptable.
"The other choice was to tell more than 1,000 kids that there wouldn't be any program for them to play ball any more. There were no easy answers here," she said.
Mayor Scott Avedisian agrees with her assessment.
Avedisian added that the Federal Aviation Administration has insured that the ball field location is a safe place for the children to play given the noise and the pollution.
"The airport and the FAA did all of that work," he said.
The ball fields will have an opening celebration within the next month or so, Avedisian said.
Rocky Point And The Babe
Not everyone is convinced that there couldn't have been a better alternative. Warwick city councilman Joseph Solomon, said that he had an idea for a creative solution that wasn't considered.
"I suggested that they be located at Rocky Point. That would have been a perfect location. It would have been good for economic development, tourism, and it could have been used to host national, state, and local tournaments," said Solomon.
"Let's not forget, Babe Ruth played baseball at Rocky Point."
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