With no completion date on the books yet for the Town Campus Baseball field project after more than a year of discussion and construction, local contractors have stepped up to the plate to speed up the timeline. Asking no payment for their services, six (and possibly more) companies are now working on the baseball field with the hope of finishing the project in a few weeks.

Completing the field has been a lengthy process, with many promised opening dates having come and gone for a number of reasons. Now, Anderson Brothers Sanitation & Excavation, Inc., Lindahl Excavating, LLC, Madison Earth Care Landscaping, Madison Flower Shop & Garden Center, Schumack Engineered Construction, and Testori Brothers Excavation, LLC, have all committed to help finish off this project, much like how contractors—including some listed here—got on board to help finish parts of Strong Field years ago.

The companies offered to donate their services to the project after Madison Director of Engineering Mike Ott called up companies with which he has professional relationships, according to Selectman Scott Murphy.

“The creativity Mike Ott has demonstrated here to solve a problem for the town is inspiring and speaks to his character and work ethic...He will do anything to ensure this project is completed successfully,” Murphy said. “One thing I can confidently say about Mike is he is always focused on the end customer, the taxpayers of Madison.”

Crews on the baseball field on June 19 confirmed Murphy’s comments, saying they came at Ott’s request. Anderson Brothers Sanitation & Excavation, Inc., President Bob Anderson said he was pleased to be able to give back to the town.

“We like to help out the town, we do a lot of stuff with the town, we grew up in the town, and our kids are in town,” he said.

Chuck Lindahl, president of Lindahl Excavating, LLC, has been working on grading around the infield and prepping the slabs for the dugout, going even so far as putting time in on the weekend—including this past Sunday, Father’s Day.

“It is just giving back to the town,” he said. “I pushed something off today to get here.”

Having professional crews on the ground is unlikely to save the town any money—despite contractors doing the work pro-bono—as the crews are only expediting the work that would have been done by town employees when they could take time from their current obligations. However, with the donated labor, current estimates suggest the field will be finished up and ready for play in a few weeks.

First Selectman Tom Banisch said he appreciated the companies that have donated their time to help finish off the field.

“I am happy and it is kind of in line with what I have been trying to do and get extra help to help us bring it in under budget,” he said. “On the surface, it looks like exactly what we need.”

While questions have been raised as to how the project got to this point, Banisch said, “One way or another, everything is going to get done.

“When people ask me, this has been Mike [Ott]’s project all along,” he said. “I have only gotten involved to try and keep the project under budget. He has been in charge all along and no one has taken the authority away from him. I am not saying that the buck doesn’t stop here—it does. What I am saying is that realistically on a day-to-day basis I don’t run projects.”

Madison Baseball President Ken Carone, as well as Murphy, refuted the idea that Ott has been in charge of the project. However, Carone said now that Ott has taken charge by calling companies to help out, he is starting to see progress.

“All [the contractors] were willing to help out and give back to their community, and progress started almost immediately,” he said. “If not for Mike [Ott], I’m sure this project would still be sitting idle despite the fact there was funding in place and multiple teams in need.”

Regardless of who shoulders the responsibility for the current state of the project, all town and baseball officials who spoke with The Source expressed their thanks to the companies that generously donated their time and resources to help wrap up this project.

“We plan on recognizing and publicly thanking all these companies for their generosity,” said Carone. “I’m not sure if there have ever been six ceremonial first pitches, but we will certainly make that offer when we dedicate this field.”

A History of the Town Campus Baseball Field Project

Built in 1998 and used by a variety of baseball teams including Daniel Hand High School, Madison Travel Tigers, Madison American Legion, Babe Ruth, and Walter C. Polson Middle School, the Town Campus baseball field has seen a fair number of seasons. After safety concerns were raised last year, the field was slated for reconstruction in this year’s budget. While the initial intention for the project may have been clear, the priorities and process shifted as the project got underway.

The project to fix the field was formally approved in last year’s budget under the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for a total of $150,000 after being initially reduced to $30,000 and then restored to $150,000 for improvements designed to alleviate safety concerns.

First Selectman Tom Banisch, who formerly chaired the Beach & Recreation Commission and served for 15 years as the president of Madison Little League, later determined the field posed no safety issues and directed the funds toward finishing off the field complex. That move raised red flags among members of various Madison baseball leagues, and the Board of Finance (BOF) withheld funding on the project until a formal safety assessment was completed.

In January of this year, Banisch presented the BOF with results of the safety inspection, performed by the town’s insurance carrier, CIRMA, supporting his initial claim that the field posed no safety concerns. With a clean inspection bill in hand, the project moved forward with the initial goal of completing construction by April 1. However, by mid-April the field wasn’t completed and the project bill was quickly approaching the $150,000 cap.

Public conversations began over how the project expenses racked up and the possibility of eliminating some project items to keep everything under budget. By May 1, $147,990 had been spent on the project as board members and interested parties continued to debate specific items and the timeline. While the May 1 total showed the project still under budget, at the May 17 BOF meeting, the project financial summary totaled $169,726, which includes some anticipated spending.

As the dollars start to add up, the BOF decided to leave $23,000 in the contingency fund to be used for the project if needed. At the BOS meeting on May 22, the board voted to approve a $23,000 special appropriation to cover potential project overages.