By VICTORIA A. CARUSO
The Merrick/North Merrick Little League Association is looking to renovate two of the Merrick School District's baseball fields. The Association, which serves more than 800 boys and girls ages five to 14, presented the Board of Education with proposals at the district's Tuesday, August 8 meeting.
David Zucker, president of the Merrick/North Merrick Little League Association, said the Little League wants to renovate one of the fields at the Birch Elementary School and erect a home-run fence at the Norman J. Levy Lakeside School.
The proposal, which was presented as one motion, was split into two proposals by the board.
Extend base lines
The first proposal, which was approved unanimously by the board, calls for extending the bases and removing the mound on the Birch baseball field closest to Burger King. According to Mr. Zucker, extending the bases will allow the Little League to accommodate more children.
"Birch has two fields, both in which first and third base are 60 feet from home plate," said Mr. Zucker. "We are requesting to make 90 foot bases on the field to accommodate [the younger and the] older kids in the community."
By flattening the mound, Mr. Zucker said, the field can be utilized by both younger and older kids. "The younger children pitch 46 feet [away from home plate] and the older children [pitch] 60 feet [away,]" he said. "We are going to make [the mound] flat so that it will not interfere between games [and can] be used as either a 60 foot or a 90 foot field."
He added that extending the bases and removing the mound will not affect the infield. "The field itself would be made bigger, but the clay portion of the field would remain the same," said Mr. Zucker. "Also, [the Little League] plans to extend the fences surrounding the field."
Of the Little League's proposal for the field at Birch, Dr. Ronald Smith, superintendent of schools, said: "As more and more children sign up, [extending the bases] gives the Little League the opportunity to schedule more games for older children who need the large base path. We are working with the Little League to maximize the most out of the space we have."
Construct fence
The Little League Association's second proposal calls for the construction of home-run fence around the southwest baseball field at the Norman J. Levy Lakeside School.
"It is not a Little League requirement, but we feel it is something children would enjoy," said Mr. Zucker. "As they get older, home runs mean something. [The fence] would allow us to play a more meaningful baseball game."
He added that the fence would provide a 200 foot distance from the outfield to home plate. "[The Levy Lakeside field] will become a standard Little League field."
As of press time, whether or not the board will approve the home-run fence at the Levy Lakeside field had not been determined. Dr. Smith said the board must look into how or if the fence will affect others who utilize the fields, such as the school's physical education department and other athletic teams, before a decision can be made.
In the meantime, Mr. Zucker said the Little League will rope off the area of the field where the fence would be erected in order to "show the school board where the fence would be in relation to the rest of the school yard."
Construction on the Birch field is expected to begin shortly and should be complete by the start of the 2000-2001 school year.
