Infields at the Aspinwall ball fields being improved

The fields at the Aspinwall Recreational Area along Field Avenue are getting an upgrade in time for fall ball.

Crews from Mars-based Treesdale Landscaping Company went to work on the infields in both play areas on Sept. 2.

Work includes removing humps on the infield edges that roll into the outfield, raking the playing surface, adding new topsoil, new bases, clay mounds in the catchers’ and batters’ boxes and new chalked baselines.

The goal was to have everything completed by Sept. 8, weather permitting. Total project cost is about $20,000.

Borough manager Melissa O’Malley said the money is coming from the general fund under the parks budget.

The borough allocated $40,000 for park maintenance this year.

“We have been dealing with persistent weed growth throughout the entire season,” O’Malley said via email. “Despite trying multiple methods to control it, we’ve had no success. After consulting with several professionals, we learned that the best solution is a deep cut and removal of both the dirt and the weed root system. The fields have not been completely redone in over 20 years, making this work long overdue.”

O’Malley said the borough did not have to go through the public bidding process for the work due to the project being less than $23,800. Purchases and projects exceeding that amount require formal bidding, according to state regulations.

The ball fields are used by multiple organizations including Fox Chapel Area Baseball Softball Association, an adult softball league and Aspinwall Tee Ball, which just concluded its third season last month.

Lou Curcio, councilman and parks and recreation chair, saidthe infields were uneven, causing tripping hazards and bad bounces. Players were getting hit with balls while trying to make plays.

These conditions existed despite the borough spending thousands per year getting the areas ready for play.

Curcio said a resident recommended Treesdale Landscaping, which has done a lot of work in the North Hills area.

“It just made a lot of economic sense for us to quit band-aiding it and get the project done fully,” Curcio said. “It’s going to save us money in the long run. It was certainly becoming a real big safety concern with the weeds growing and balls taking bad hops.

“We take a lot of pride in our fields and we want them to look beautiful and we want them to play beautiful. They’ve been way more used in the past three or four years than they have been in a long time. It’s something we saw was an opportunity for us to improve and save money in the long run.”

The hope is to have the fields ready for fall play later this month. The new surfaces would then settle through the winter and also have fewer drainage issues in the spring.

“It’s tough to do (this kind of project) in the spring because it’s constantly used every day,” Curcio said.

The ball fields become dog parks Nov. 1 through April 1.

Curcio said the play areas get fenced off during that time, and pets are not allowed in the infields.