The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved about $24,000 in contracts with two companies to repair fences at some of New Canaan’s most-used sports fields.
The contracts with New Canaan-based Gannon Rustic Fence and New Haven-based Total Fence will address damaged fences at the softball field in Waveny, varsity baseball field in Mead Park and two Water Tower turf fields at New Canaan High School, according to Todd Deklyn, superintendent of parks in the Department of Public Works.
“The Water Tower field fence is over five years old, and these two fields get used by various sports groups throughout the season,” Deklyn told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.
He continued: “Damage to these fences is mostly caused by balls being kicked or hit in the fence during their games or practices. At the baseball and softball field fences, most of the damage is mostly caused by athletes doing soft toss and throwing weighted balls against them for warmups. Only the bad sections of the fence on each field will be replaced and we have requested two quotes from Gannon Fence and Total Fence.”
The town has used both companies in the past and they’ve “done quality work for us,” Deklyn said.
First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the contracts.
Before voting, the selectmen removed some of the contingency funding included in the original request, as they’ve done in the recent past.
Carlson said that the work will involve replacement of existing fences, rather than the labor-heavy work of digging new holes, for example.
Parks & Recreation Director John Howe said that in some cases a damaged pole might need to be replaced.
“Our biggest concern with not having any contingency is when we go out there and if we have to do 10 more feet of fence,” he said.
Though the town measured exactly how much fencing is required, that measurement was taken some six to eight weeks ago “and people are out there now, so it could have creeped a little bit more.”
The selectmen reduced the contingency from about $3,500 to $2,000.
Karl asked whether the new fencing material would be identical to what’s in place.
Deklyn said yes.
“Some fences have different thickness on it, but it’s all the same material,” he said. “Different heights on some of the fences.”
Murphy Carroll noted that the town hired two different companies for relatively small fence work. Howe responded that by doing so, the town saved about $1,700.
Carlson said she’s seen the same dynamic when the town bids out public tree work.