BETTER THAN HEARSAY

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

By Michael Ryan

WINDHAM - There seems to be only one question needing answering after the intense community conversation that took place, the other night, about creating two little league fields at the Windham Path.

Stiff resistance is being offered to the plan by a group called Friends of the Windham Path who have presented a petition to the Windham town council, wanting the fields built elsewhere.

A related story appears in our newspaper, this week, giving background on why the town council is moving toward doing the project and why the Friends of the Windham Path don’t want it done.

The lingering question, after everything was said and done, is this - is there a viable alternative? If yes, why isn’t the town pursing it? If no, what is all the accusatory fuss and furor about? 

Many opinions were expressed, the other night. There were moments it felt like the town council was seen as the enemies of the Windham Path, but overall the highly emotional gathering was civil and respectful.

A couple of things stood out, starting with the odd aspect of town supervisor Thomas Hoyt doing virtually all of the talking for the town council, thereby becoming the brunt of everyone’s displeasure.

The council has five members and over the past several months, as this project has come to light, all five have voted in favor of moving forward.

Maybe letting the supervisor publicly represent the council is the way they always conduct business and they simply kept doing it that way.

But the talks might have gone very differently if the full council, under the circumstances, had made it known it isn’t a lone guy mob-bossing everybody, unless it is which would be a fun tale to write. 

It was plainly clear a lot of people are passionate about the Windham Path, and they say it will be ruined by the presence of the fields which would serve as a new home base for the Mountaintop Little League.

The landscape will change, for sure. Stopping by the Path, the day after the  council session, it was difficult to envision how much the fields will impact the intangible thing that makes the Windham Path so beloved.

Many petitioners remarked about the possible loss of the visual expanse of the Path and the disappearance of the natural peace and quiet.

“My father designed the bridge,” said local resident and business owner Natasha Shuster, referring to the amazing covered bridge spanning the Batavia Kill, on the westernmost side of the Path.

Emphasizing that many local people were involved in building that bridge and the Path, Shuster ardently urged council members to leave the Path untouched AND keep Mountaintop Little League based in Windham.

“I believe it should stay in Windham. All three of our children played at Mountaintop Little League. It is an asset to the town,” Shuster said.

Shuster, along with other people who spoke, think C.D Lane Park, outside the hamlet of Maplecrest, should instead be adapted for the fields.

A ball field exists there already, with a backstop, causing people to wonder what is preventing the town from expanding on that option.

“It behooves our town board to do their due diligence and to fully look at all [possible] places.  We can have two wonderful, unique places; one as a natural preserve and one as a town park,” Shuster said.

“What is really important here,” Shuster said, “is that all constituents are listened to. It behooves the town board not to just do what they feel.”

Hoyt said regulations at the park, which is primarily a flood control dam, don’t permit the new facility, an issue expected to be delved into more deeply over the coming weeks by the petitioners.

Town officials voice satisfaction that all options have been and are being examined, leaving no stone unturned, wondering why the Friends of the Windham Path apparently think the council is out to wreck the Path.

Meanwhile, a strange twist has emerged surrounding Prattsville and the possible use of the ballfield at their town park.

Back in February, the Windham town council was visited by local business owners Nick Bove and Drew Shuster, having learned of the proposal to construct the fields at the Path, and as part of the discussion, Hoyt agreed to broach the subject with supervisors in neighboring towns.

Hoyt says he did so, at a Mountaintop Supervisors and Mayors Association meeting, an informal monthly sitdown between hilltown leaders, schmoozing about common issues.

During the Windham talks, last Wednesday night, Hoyt said he brought it up, saying the town of Ashland couldn’t help and that Prattsville could possibly squeeze Windham in for practices and whatnot.

In other words, Prattsville couldn’t make a full commitment. Prattsville town supervisor Greg Cross, however, says that is not the case, and that his town would be happy to welcome the Mountaintop Little League.

Cross says Hoyt knew that prior to the big Windham meeting, also said he would tell a men's softball league using the Prattsville field that they would need to take a back seat to the Mountaintop Little League.

Hoyt says that’s news to him, that beyond mentioning it at the Supervisors meeting, he never spoke directly to Cross about moving there.

A reporter from a local newspaper was apparently at the Windham meeting, talking to Hoyt afterwards, and then getting in touch with Cross.

Hoyt attended Opening Day games for the little league on Saturday where I asked him why Cross would be saying what he is saying, that basically Hoyt is not being transparent. Hoyt said he wouldn’t try to guess.