Plans to move forward with major improvements to several of North Haven’s athletic facilities will commence this summer, with significant upgrades and additions provided for multiple sports.

These improvements are part of a $3.5 million capital bonding package for which the town was approved on June 6, 2022, to bolster its athletic facilities. The improvements will take place at Brozek Softball Field, DeMayo Baseball Field, the JV fields that sit north of the town’s athletic complex, and two turf fields at the high school and middle school.

The improvements will address the accessibility and safety of the facilities to its users, as well as previous drainage and irrigation issues that have negatively affected the fields, according to Lynn Sadowsky, director of Public Works.

“Our goal is to make the field safer, address the drainage problems and make the lighting better so that you can play ball, it’s safe, and you’re not running in puddles,” said Sadowsky.

The improvements will move in steps per facility, beginning with the two turf fields.

At the two turf fields will be chain-link, fencing, a press box with internet and electrical connection for sound, and a 1,000-capacity grandstand bleacher establishment. According to Sadowsky, the grandstand will provide seating at the facility where there formerly was none.

“When you go there, you’re sitting on lawn chairs; you bring in your own seats. It’s high time that we get seating, and a 1,000-person seat will allow you to see games here and there if you need it,” said Sadowsky.

Turning to Brozek Softball Field, improvements will include resizing the outfield by 200 inches, adding a new 8-foot outfield fence, foul poles, a new backstop behind home plate with a windscreen, covered dugouts, and a new scoreboard.

Thirdly, improvements at DeMayo Baseball Field will be the same as at Brozek, with the addition of electrical signage. At the same time, the field will also be shifted 40 inches northwards to Maple Avenue.

Both DeMayo and Brozek fields will see changes to their LED lighting systems, with the hope to “modernize” them, according to Sadowsky.

“They’re going to be fully remote controlled, so nobody has to go up and down the poles to check things or change. So if the angle is not the right angle, you just have to be able to control it with a remote control, and there’ll be pointing down instead of going everywhere. It’s just going down onto the field,” said Sadowsky.

Finally, at the JV fields, irrigation and drainage systems will be developed, and water supply to the fields will be shifted from a line on Maple Avenue to a larger line on Sackett Point Road, which Sadowsky said can support systems at much of the North Haven Athletic Complex and should be a cost-saving measure for the town.

Sadowsky said vastly improving the irrigation systems at multiple fields is one of the primary reasons for refurbishments to the town’s athletic facilities. That will be the major goal for the JV fields.

“The JV fields off of Valley Brook [Lane] have irrigation, but the pressure is not that great. So the [South Central Connecticut] Regional Water Authority on Sackett Point [Road] put in a 16-inch line for water, so we’re pulling in water [northward] now. We’ll be able to bring in water for the whole complex much better, so we’ll get better water pressure,” said Sadowsky.

New systems at Brozek and DeMayo will lie underneath the border of the fields’ infields and outfields as well.

Most of the estimated $3.5 million cost of the improvements includes the construction and installation of the various additions, which are estimated to total $3 million. Sadowsky said whichever contractor is selected to handle construction, the town will be careful that construction does not exceed that $3 million limit. The civil engineering firm Weston and Sampson will handle the improvements’ designs.

The remaining $500,000 includes the package’s ‘soft costs’ for “anything that’s not physical construction,” said Sadowksy. Those costs are for legal and bonding attorney fees, design fees from Weston and Sampson, and a general stormwater permit from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Since all expenses in the bonding package are estimates, Sadowksy said the town hopes to ultimately spend less than the maximum amount of $3.5 million.

Sadowsky said the earliest that construction can begin is July 15 after the 60-day review by DEEP. Following that date, the town will give its contractor a year to complete the bonding package’s wishlist of improvements and ensure they achieve its intended goals.

Aside from the improvements, including the capital bonding package, other opportunities for upgrades to the town’s athletic facilities are on its radar. The town received a $250,000 grant from the Department of Economic Community Development’s Urban Act Grant program for the installation of new lighting at the all-purpose field adjacent to Brozek, which will be realized sometime in August.