Park and Rec sketches five-year capital cascade starting with Davis Field

SUDBURY — December 16, 2025 — Sudbury Park and Rec sketches a five-year capital cascade and removes school fields from its inventory. Meeting without staff Dec. 16, the commission landed on Davis Field as next priority for construction in summer 2027, followed by a combined Broadacre-Featherland baseball and softball complex in 2028 and Parkinson Field in 2029. Chair Mara Huston argued the field needs assessment's deficits are "warped by the school numbers"; member Ben Carmel's rough recalculation roughly doubles the natural-grass rectangular deficit once elementary schools are removed. The commission deferred any decision on synthetic turf at Haskell, citing PFAS, a 12-year renovation cost near $750,000, and pending state legislation sponsored by Rep. Carmine Gentile that would bar municipal funds from synthetic fields if it clears Ways and Means by July 2026. Member Bobby Beagan was absent; the commission voted 4-0 to adjourn.