During their meeting on Monday night, members of the Barrington Town Council voted 3-2 in favor of allocating $1 million in federal funding for renovations to some of the athletic fields at Haines Park. 

Councilors Rob Humm, Carl Kustell and Michael Carroll voted in favor of dedicating American Rescue Plan Act money for the work, while Annelise Conway and Jacob Brier voted against it.

The split vote followed a series of comments from two camps on the Haines Park issue — some residents spoke in favor of the field work, while others were opposed to the project. 

Steve Clemens lives near the park and opposed some recent changes to the park plan. He said the earlier draft did not include fencing along Haines Park Road or a concession stand building or an electronic scoreboard or roofs for the dugouts at the softball field. 

Alex Geiser said he grew up playing sports in town, but he was concerned that some of the developments at the park would be detrimental — he pointed to the creek running through the middle of Haines and questioned if wildlife would be displaced.

Michelle Coleman said she lives along Humphreys Road and is concerned about parking and congestion issues when people park along Haines Park Road. She spoke about the trash left behind at the park and said the Barrington Department of Public Works did a “deplorable” job maintaining the area. 

Others to speak out against the Haines Park field improvements said lacrosse balls could pose a “fatal” hazard to other park users, and questioned the process that led to the plan.

Thomas “TR” Rimoshytus was among the residents who spoke in favor of funding the plan and challenged some of the points offered by residents who opposed the work. 

Rimoshytus, a member of the Barrington Park and Recreation Commission, said the meetings focused on the Haines plan were all posted to the website, and all were open to the public. He said the size of the field has not changed (countering a claim made earlier in the meeting), and that the field is located more than 200 feet away from the creek in the park. 

Rimoshytus also said there is only one softball field in town available to youth sports, not including two on the high school campus. 

Others at the meeting spoke about the need for equity in fields — Michelle Aguiar said Barrington girls softball teams were not able to host All-Star games in the past because there is not a field in Barrington that meets league requirements; local All-Star baseball teams have been hosting games for years. Aguiar, who is a volunteer for Barrington Little League, said the softball program in town has grown over the last few years. Michelle’s husband Aaron, the president of BLL, said people are concerned about equity for girls in town. Officials said there are more than a dozen baseball fields in Barrington for boys, but only three softball fields (including the two at BHS) for local girls. 

Aaron Aguiar also explained that the Haines Park project only calls for the reconfiguration of the fields — sliding the small baseball diamond closer to the softball field so officials can fit a larger multi-use field to the north. Aguiar said he wanted people to come together on this project and find unity.

Steve Boyajian, a former council member and current board member for Barrington Little League, produced a historical perspective for Haines Park. Boyajian said he found aerial photos from 1939 that showed what that part of Haines looked like — there was a football field on the space and a smaller field behind that. 

Boyajian said in the 1950s the athletic fields were there, and in 1962 a baseball diamond was built and accompanied by a soccer field. Boyajian said the photos from 1972 showed two baseball diamonds on the fields, coinciding with the point where the Harrington family gave money to the town to develop the baseball fields. 

Boyajian, a member of the ad hoc committee that studied athletic fields and artificial turf options for approximately two years, also explained the research that went into developing the plan for the Haines Park improvements. 

Pamela Fuller said she attended the council meeting to support funding pickle ball improvements, but was moved by the discussion involving equity for local girls sports. She said sports were not available for girls when she was growing up. Fuller said it was important for there to be equity for girls sports. 

Councilors’ comments

Humm shared his thoughts on the issue. He explained the purpose of the ARPA money and how important recreation was during the pandemic. He said he supported the plan for the field improvements and that work would not result in restrictions to access. Humm also said developers of the plan worked hard to preserve trees as part of the work and will plant new trees. He said officials will continue to work hard to address residents’ concerns so that the final product is something that works for all people. 

Conway spoke about how contentious the meeting was and said we are all neighbors and need to come together as a town. Conway said she was reluctant to spend the money on Haines because she had not looked at the full plan. She also spoke briefly about other items, including affordable housing.

Kustell supported funding the Haines Park work. He said sports and recreation bring people together, that they are good for people’s mental health and physical health. Kustell said there was a need for the Haines Park plan to move forward. 

He also said the work was consistent with the historical use of park property, as illustrated by Boyajian earlier in the meeting. And as for conservation needs, Kustell said he is a member of the town’s conservation commission and that the group is in favor of the work as long as there is close attention paid to the preservation of trees and remediation of any trees removed. 

Kustell said that even with the renovation of the Haines Park field there is still a shortage of athletic fields in town. He also said softball players in town faced an equity issue that needs to be fixed. 

Brier said there appeared to be a willingness for all parties to work together to find a positive outcome at Haines. He spoke about the gender equity issue.

Carroll said there has been an effort to address neighbors’ concerns on the project — he cited changing the permanent fence in the plan to a temporary one. He said the plan was the lowest impact plan. Carroll then made a motion to fund the Haines Park “Phase I” plan. Humm seconded the motion, which passed with the 3-2 vote.