New message board, new building set for Foley

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Foley Field Foundation has collected or has received pledges totalling almost $175,000 toward its effort to construct a proposed multipurpose building at the southern end of Foley Field. According to Mike Napolitano, president of the organization, Brookdale ShopRite recently pledged $25,000 toward a budget of $300,000 for the building. He said ShopRite would be sponsoring the concession stand that will be part of the new building. Napolitano is optimistic about the final cost of the project.

“It may only take $200,000,” he said in a late-December telephone interview following a Bloomfield School Board presentation by the foundation. “We have a lot of volunteer services. The cash collected is being leveraged for maximum effectiveness.”

Costs will be kept down because the foundation is a private, non-profit organization and is not required to pay prevailing wages, he said. This will be reflected in donated time and services.

“People donate their time because they love the town,” Napolitano said. “Maybe they played ball here or their kids went to school here.”

Grant applications for charity foundations sponsored by Home Depot and Lowes are also being filed. Construction will be supervised by FFF member Tony Todaro.

“I raise funds for Tony and he appropriates as best as possible,” Napolitano said.
He said he is still looking for a sponsor to provide $25,000 for a wheelchair lift at the new building, which will have two floors. He added that the impact the construction will have on the site will be minimum.

An obstacle to start the work has been a PSE&G utility pole and power lines located where the building will sit. Napolitano expects an agreement between the utility company, the school district and the township, not yet finalized, should allow construction to begin in early spring. In that event, the building would be finished by the end of the year.

“Seven months is a very safe number,” Napolitano said.
While the multipurpose building appears to be on track, another proposed project at the sports facility has been changed.

The site for a proposed message board, paid for by Bloomfield College, has been relocated. The board was to have been located above the sidewalk along Foley Field, facing JFK Parkway. But it turned out that the sign would be too near PSE&G power lines above the sidewalk. In November, the site was changed. Recently, the footing and framing for the message board was put into place at the north end of the field, near the flag park and scoreboard. Napolitano said utility regulations made the move necessary.

“It was a whole confluence of things,” he said. “The regulations kept upping and upping and the PSE&G proximity was a concern.”

The regulations could have been met, he said, and all the concerns could have been overcome, but it would have taken too long.

“I think it’s about time the township and the school board enjoy the benefit of the message board,” Napolitano said. “As long as the kids in town get to use it.”
Township Engineer Paul Lasek recommended another site and it was decided that was the better thing to do, he said.

“It’s the same sign,” Napolitano said. “The only change is its operation. Instead of being on a cable it will be radio controlled.”

The approval of Bloomfield College was required for the site change. The school donated $35,000 for the sign. Napolitano said, at its present location, the sign could not be used effectively for public-service announcements. But it could possibly be used during Bloomfield High School graduations and sports by flashing photographs of students.

“I don’t know of any high school field that has both the scoreboard and digital message board that Foley Field has,” Napolitano said.