Pickering baseball diamonds to be upgraded

Durhamregion.com
March 7, 2019
Judi Bobbitt

Two baseball diamonds in Pickering will be upgraded this year, after an ice storm in April 2018 led to the collapse of backstops.

Funds for new backstops at Brock Ridge Community Park, at Finch and Brock roads -- and at S.M. Woodsmere Park, near Rosebank Road and Woodsmere Crescent -- have been approved by city council.

Kirkey Field at Brock Ridge Community Park, the home field of the Pickering Baseball Association, will also see new player benches -- new bleachers with concrete pads, replacement of a chain link on the wing and outfield fences, and new asphalt paving around the backstop.

Both projects have been rolled into one for the purposes of financing, and the work has been awarded to Anthony Furlano Construction Inc., which submitted the lowest tender bid out of four companies, in the amount of $969,571.07; contingency funding has been built in, in case poor soil conditions are encountered, and the total net project cost to the City after an HST rebate is set at $1,005,418.

According to a report by Director of Community Services Marisa Carpino, the baseball backstops at the parks had a “catastrophic collapse” after an ice storm on April 14 and 15 of last year. The Kirkey Field diamond and backstop was constructed in 1986, and years later the backstop poles were extended, with additional netting installed above the fence to stop foul balls. The extra loading on the fencing poles led to the eventual failure of the posts and collapse of the backstop, she said.

The baseball diamond at S.M. Woodsmere Park, built in 1997, also had its backstop poles extended -- leading to the same problem.

The collapse of the backstops took two of three full-sized baseball diamonds in Pickering out of use and made it difficult to get all teams on the field, says John Smeelen, president of the Pickering Baseball Association. The situation led to the “over-use” of the Don Beer Park field at Brock Rd. and Hwy. 7, and prompted the association to rent fields in Ajax, he said.

“Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later,” he said of the impending upgrades to the Pickering fields, noting scheduling for the upcoming season will begin in March.

The new backstops will be taller and structurally engineered to withstand wind and ice.

Funds for the project were included in the City’s 2019 capital budget, with $919,000 to be debentured. Property taxes will fund $1,418 of the cost, and $85,000 will be taken from reserve accounts