Huntington ESPA Committee Meeting: Park Improvement Nominations and Funding Decisions - July 9, 2026
Huntington ESPA Committee Meeting: Park Improvement Nominations and Funding Decisions - July 9, 2026
This meeting of the Huntington Environmental Stewardship and Park Advisory (ESPA) committee focused on three park improvement proposals: turf replacement at Breezy Field, structural and lighting upgrades at the Chapin stage, and a turf infield at Cedar Road Park. The committee deliberated on funding sources given limited ESPA resources, ultimately approving emergency funding for the stage, recommending the Breezy Field project be funded from alternative town funds, and tabling the Cedar Road Park request pending clarity on funding flexibility.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes from the previous meeting were approved with a vote of 6 in favor, 1 abstention, and 4 absent (out of 11 members).
Discussion Items
- Breezy Field Turf Replacement: Todd James presented a request for $500,000 toward the $1.4 million estimated cost to replace the aging synthetic turf at Breezy Field, which was installed in 2009 (17 years ago, exceeding its 10-year life expectancy). He noted safety concerns, frequent repairs, and intense use. The field has two side-by-side fields and is the most heavily used in the town. Discussion included the number of total turf fields (5), the cycle of replacement, and whether this is maintenance or capital improvement. The committee expressed concern that ESPA's $1.5 million annual allocation is insufficient to cover recurring turf replacement and that the town should plan for such expenses. A motion was made to recommend the town board fund this project from the neighborhood parks fund, capital fund, or environmental reserve, rather than from ESPA's balance sheet. The motion passed.
- Chapin Stage Improvements: Todd James also requested $100,000 in contingency funding for the stage at Heckscher Park, which is approximately 60 years old. The project involves replacing the lighting and sound system, including 15 new steel I-beams to create a safe load-bearing grid, as current beams are not weight-certified. The request is urgent due to safety issues and ongoing shows. The committee approved the $100,000 from park improvement funds, noting that $137,000 in unexpended funds from prior projects might flow back to ESPA but should not be relied upon. The motion passed.
- Cedar Road Park Turf Infield: Michael Coffee, representing the baseball/softball organization, requested a turf infield for Cedar Road Park, with an estimated cost of approximately $200,000 for the infield alone (including drainage). The organization has invested over $50,000 in the park over the last five years and commits $100,000 in matching funds. The park has not had major capital improvements in 35 years, and the field is not comparable to other town parks. The committee discussed funding sources: park improvement ($113,000 available), neighborhood enhancement ($1.135 million), or neighborhood parks fund (not controlled by ESPA). They noted that if funded from park improvement, the committee would go negative, which has never been done. They decided to table the application for 30 days to seek clarity from the town attorney and controller on whether neighborhood enhancement funds can be used for park projects, and to explore potential reallocation of unused funds from other projects. The organization was informed they are first in queue for the next meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Breezy Field Turf Replacement: The committee voted to recommend that the town board fund this project from alternative sources (neighborhood parks fund, capital fund, or environmental reserve), not from ESPA funds, due to limited ESPA resources.
- Chapin Stage Improvements: Approved $100,000 from park improvement funds for the contingency, with the understanding that if the steel beam replacement is not needed, the funds will be returned to ESPA.
- Cedar Road Park Turf Infield: Tabled for 30 days pending clarification on funding eligibility and flexibility. The committee will revisit at the next meeting.
- General: The committee will seek guidance from the town attorney and controller on the use of neighborhood enhancement funds for park projects and on the possibility of reallocating unused funds from completed projects.
Meeting Transcript
Hello everyone, welcome to Espa. We have a number of presentations tonight. First in our hearts, first on the list. Todd James. Hey! Good evening, everyone. Good evening. I did it a few times. I'm sorry. I have two nominations. One of them, the first one is the replacement turf at Breezy Field. Breezy Park. I don't know if anybody's been to Breezy Field or Breezy Park. I'll give you a little bit of history on it. The field was built in 2009. I think it was on 2009. Approximately 17 years old. Mike expectancy for 10 years. We've had games canceled by referees due to safety issues of the tariff. We've had a numerous amount of complaints. I can't even tell you. You know, petitions are being signed now to replace the terror. I have uh general service here. Um Brian's general former who's don't he's repaired. I don't know how many times he repaired it, right? Something has to be done. It's becoming a safety issue, a liability issue. And we have to make a move on it. Again, it's almost twice as long as it's expected to stay safe. Okay, we'll put it that way. All right. Yeah, the estimated cost of both fields of Breezy. It's about 1.4 million. Alright? And that, you know, the drainage are already in place. It's just replacement turf. We're asking for 500,000. The other the additional money would we would go out to capital improvement money. From the town to try to improve these fields. And get them back to where they should be. Guys, it's the most, it's the most used fields, set of fields we have. Permitted and non-permanent. Okay, permanent meaning organizations, leaks, practices, non-permanent permanent public. It's always, it's active, it's active all the time. Rain or shine, Sunday through Saturday, and the lights down, they'll be there only. So the quest is for 500,000 to put towards the 1.4 million cost for, estimates the cost for turf replacement. Okay, so that's that would be in all likelihood from park improvement. Um let's just change the format of how we do things uh tonight just a little bit. Um rather than vote on these individually, uh, if we can move uh hear all the presentations, and then we'll just discuss our balance sheet so we can make the decision based on allocation of resources and then move on to individually after that discussion. So we're just gonna uh listen to all of these uh but let's while we have you here if we can just kind of QA on this a little bit.
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