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[quote="Cranbury Press"][b]Committee to improve fences at Babe Ruth field[/b]

Thursday, September 18, 2008 11:34 AM EDT
By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer

The Township Committee on Sept. 10 authorized spending $20,000 more for the Babe Ruth baseball field, located on the Wright South property near the Cranbury School.

Although the field was built to Babe Ruth specifications, the money will allow the township to add 41 linear feet to the fence lines along the first- and third-base foul lines. The change is necessary because the field’s current set-up presented some safety issues, said Christine Smeltzer, township administrator.

”The Recreation Board and Township Committee wanted more of an area in places where runners were trying to catch a foul ball,” she said. “Once they saw what was built they thought there needed to be a little more room.”

Township Engineer Cathleen Marcelli gave the committee two options at its Sept. 8 meeting. The first was one would have cost approximately $30,000, and called for an even larger fence and the relocation of a backstop.

However, the committee opted to go with the less expensive of the two for $19,270 because it adequately covered safety concerns, Ms. Smeltzer said.

The township will not go out to bid as it is not required for this amount, she said, adding that officials intend to hire Precise Construction Inc., which has completed most of the field’s work.

Cranbury’s Chief Financial Officer Denise Marabello said the Babe Ruth baseball field has cost $374,478 so far, not including the most recent $19,000.

So far, the project has been funded by two separate county grants, one for $400,000 and another for $75,000, she said.

”It hasn’t cost us any money, it’s all grant money,” Ms. Smeltzer said.

Although there is still a second phase of the project, which involves adding a scoreboard, bleachers and dugouts among other things, township officials are hoping to have the field completed by the spring, Ms. Smeltzer said.

Cranbury officials are hoping that recent vandalism, like an incident that took place few weeks ago where a car drove around the property, will not be a reoccurring problem, as it could potentially delay the project, Ms. Smeltzer said.

”People are going to have to take care of the field and not damage it so we can start (next season),” she said.[/quote]

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