Photo courtesy of Valley Aerial Optics.
DERBY — The majority of the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen voted last week to decline a request from the Valley Firefighters Softball League to use the new playing field at Payden Park.
A request from Derby volunteer firefighters to use the field for double headers on Mondays from July through September was rejected by a 6 – 3 vote.
Aldermen Ron Sill, Tom Donofrio and Jim DiMartino voted in the minority.
However, Alderman Charles Sampson, Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro, and Alderwoman Sarah Widomski all pointed out they could not vote in favor because the city has yet to approve a written set of policies and procedures governing the field’s use.
The no votes comes after the city’s parks and recreation department recommended the firefighters be allowed to use the playing field, according to an email included in the meeting’s agenda packet.
Sampson, a Derby volunteer firefighter and former Valley firefighter softball league player, said he had already told other organizations they could not use the field.
“I don’t mean to be the bummer here, but we’ve had other people ask to use this field and we’ve actually told them because the policies are about four weeks out that they can’t, bottom line,” Sampson said.
Teams from Derby schools are allowed to use the field, Sampson said, along with Derby Little League and programs housed within Derby recreation.
Sampson said allowing the firefighters to use the field would not be fair to the groups who were told no.
“All those people we told no are going to come back and want my head,” he said.
“We appreciate what the Valley firefighters do for us every day but it open this up, are we opening up the floodgates?” Alderwoman Widomski asked.
“I’m not going to be voting for it based on — we don’t have a policy in place,” Alderwoman DeGennaro said.
But a subcommittee of the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen has been discussing the use of the field since at least June 2019, past meeting agendas on the city’s website show.
And, according to last week’s discussion with the full board, that subcommittee’s work (Sill, Sampson, DeGennaro and Widomski) would be done by August.
The red tape from the board frustrated Mayor Rich Dziekan. He argued a special exception should be made for the volunteer firefighters given what they do for the Valley, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Diekan said playing softball allows the volunteers to blow off steam and build camaraderie.
“It’s good for their mental health, with everything that is going on,” Mayor Dziekan said. “To not allow them would be terrible.”
Dziekan said the city could give the league a list of ‘do’s and don’ts,’ and leave it up to the volunteer firefighters to police themselves.
Sensing the issue was heading for defeat, the mayor specifically asked for a roll-call vote: “I want this documented,” Dziekan said.
Sampson, Widomski and DeGennaro voted no, along with Alderman Rob Hyder, Alderman Joe DiMartino, and Alderwoman Camille Grande-Kurtyka.
Derby fire companies have three teams playing in the league. The league uses fields all over the Valley, including the Bradley School in Derby.
But there’s a shortage of fields this season. Shelton’s fields are not open, Derby Storms’ Matt Thomas told the board last week.
In addition, the league had previously used the playing field next to the high school’s football field softball field (which no longer exists). That old field was replaced with the new field the firefighters now can’t use after last week’s vote.
The ‘no’ vote surprised Alderman Sill, who expressed his frustration on social media. His comment drew 69 comments in reaction, most of which supported Sill.
Alderman Joe DiMartino, the president of the board, used social media to explain his ‘no’ vote. He emphasized that a policy will be finalized shortly.
Andrew Baklik, Mayor Dziekan’s chief of staff, said the subcommittee working on the rules (the BOA “Operations & Procedures Committee”) is scheduled to meet 6 p.m. July 23. If the subcommittee finalizes the policy, there is a chance the full board could meet the same day and approve the new rules, which could get the firefighters on the field immediately thereafter.
In the larger picture, the mini-controversy shows the complications that can happen when a small, cash-strapped city is the beneficiary of an estimated $20 million gift.
The new baseball/softball field was paid for entirely by Joan Payden, a California businesswoman whose father graduated from Derby High School in 1915.
The football field and running track next door was paid for through a $3 million state grant.
As a whole, Derby’s new athletic digs are a breath-taking — especially compared to what was there previously.
But it has also increased costs.
The playing field, and accompanying J.R. Payden Field House, cost some $20 million.
The athletic complex is now breathtaking — but the most recent Derby budget shows at least $20,000 (a custodian and some utility bills) in new spending connected to the facility. The Valley Indy emailed City Hall Tuesday looking for a more complete accounting of how much the facility costs taxpayers.
The facility also sparked an Aldermen/Alderwomen debate during the winter regarding whether the city’s public works crews should be shoveling the snow off a steep staircase on the property.
