Residents Voice Opposition to Football Field Shed

A proposal by a local youth sports association to erect a permanent shed-type structure at a football field drew criticism from two residents whose back yards border the field at Hellertown Borough Council's July 16 meeting.

After Saucon Valley Youth Sports Association President Erik Schneider--along with football volunteers Eric Wolfe and Kevin Dyer--told council of the proposal, Magnolia Road resident Alison Carroll told council that she and another resident were not in favor of the plan.

Carroll, who lives in the 700 block of Magnolia with her husband, said that football games played on the field behind their home already impact their quality of life in the neighborhood.

When they purchased their home nine years ago, she said they were not aware that football games are played on the field at the rear of their property.

Baseball games are also played on the field, but the atmosphere at those games is "very mellow and quiet," Carroll said.

In contrast, when youth football games are played at the field, "it's this gigantic noise thing," she said.

Some fans cut through their yard, and children have even sat on a table in their yard, Carroll said.

"The kids are all over. The people are all over. And it's just very noisy," she told council. "My husband and I would not be pleased with having a building put there."

John Stinner, another resident of the 700 block of Magnolia Road, supported Carroll's claims and questioned the need for a permanent structure, which the association volunteers said will be used to "store all our equipment...so it's always there."

Games would also be announced from atop the vinyl-sided structure, which could be used during other events at the field, council was told.

Wolfe said the association has been using "old scaffolding that's probably unsafe and falling apart" as its platform at the football games.

And, Dyer said, the permanent structure would help improve safety by eliminating the need to run lengthy extension cords for the games.

Although Carroll questioned the use of the field for football games, some council members defended that tradition, with president Phil Weber estimating that youth football games have been played there for "at least 50 years."

"Moving football out of there probably won't ever happen," he told her.

Councilwoman Gail Nolf added, "there is no other field for them to play at, unless it's the ."

The high school field is only available for use in case of an emergency, she said.

However, Nolf said it did not "seem logical" to build a permanent structure at the field for "only a couple of games" per year.

Approximately five youth football games are played at the home field each year.

Council vice president John Bate said he sympathized with the association's need for an easier way to set up for its home games, and cited the fact that "volunteerism is down...and only a very few people help set up."

Councilman Tom Rieger then suggested a compromise solution, whereby a movable shed would be used at the field during football season only.

He also suggested to Police Chief Robert Shupp that borough officers sweep the park field when home football games are being played, to help ensure that fans are being respectful of neighbors' private property.

Ultimately, Wolfe told Carroll and Stinner, "we can't control the families and the kids going on your property."

He said they tried to choose a location for the shed that would be in between yards, so the view from yards in the 700 block of Magnolia wouldn't be directly blocked by it.

Wolfe, Schneider and Dyer all told councilman Mike McKenna they believed the location they had chosen for placement of the shed was the best possible location for it.

Council ultimately approved a motion to permit the use of a transportable shed at the field during football season, with the stipulation that the association volunteers coordinate their plans with Borough Public Works Director Tom Henshaw.

The motion was approved 7-0, and Schneider said the association would research pricing options for a movable structure.