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Miracle League ball field for disabled eyed for Birch Grove

Journal Inquirer - 5/24/2021

May 24—TOLLAND — A special information meeting is set for tonight on a proposal to build a Miracle League Field for disabled students where the portable classrooms at Birch Grove Elementary School now sit.

A Miracle League Field is specifically for children with physical and or cognitive challenges. Throughout Tolland County schools, there are more than 1,000 children enrolled in special education services, according to the proposal.

Miracle Fields are wheelchair accessible ball fields that have a rubberized surface or short turf and eliminates raised obstacles. A baseball diamond would have painted bases and a pitching mound and dugouts made larger to accommodate wheelchairs and other apparatus. In addition, the base path, pitching and outfield fence distance is slightly shorter than a typical Little League field, according to the proposal.

MIRACLE FIELD

WHAT: A proposal to build a Miracle League Field for disabled athletes at Birch Grove is being presented to town officials tonight.

WHEN: 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Via Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81186529717?pwd=QTVicFhXbUlOK1BUbzgvdU5vSjkxZz09

or call 646-876-9923 and input meeting ID 811 8652 9717 and password 05242021.

The site being proposed already has the proper sub-base underneath the portables for pitch and drainage.

Furthermore, no other locations within the town can provide the necessary accessibility, according to the proposal.

In assessing the Tolland school portfolio of properties for the installation of a fully accessible ball field, "few of our sites meet such a criteria without spending exorbitant amounts of money," Pete Sztaba, Tolland public schools facilities director wrote.

"The Birch Grove Primary School serves as the most practical location to consider a Miracle Field," Sztaba said, adding that the rest of the new school is handicap accessible, and all the routes and parking lots meet current codes for the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. "The soccer field area where the portable classrooms are now currently will have accessible routes to the restored soccer field regardless if a Miracle Field gets approved or not."

The cost to build at the Birch Grove site is estimated at $270,000, with funding to be raised through grassroots efforts and grants. Built at any other site, the estimated cost for the project would amount to about $550,000, the proposal states. No taxpayer dollars would be used.

Several letters in support of the project were submitted with the proposal.

The field being proposed includes a turf soccer field that would be utilized by Tolland TOPS Soccer, a community-based program for young athletes with mental and physical disabilities. The program is organized by U.S. Youth Soccer Association volunteers. Birch Grove students would also be able to use the field for physical education, recess, and after school activities.

There are two other Miracle League fields in the state, one in West Hartford and one in East Lyme, and more than 325 across the country, according to the proposal.

The Miracle League is a national brand that requires minimal cleaning and routine maintenance and comes with a seven-year warranty and life span of 10 to 12 years, possibly 15 to 20, depending on use, the proposal states.

The proposal was submitted by Laurel and Steven Leibowitz, who have been involved in Challenger Little League, a baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges for more than 30 years.

The meeting is being held virtually via Zoom. To join, go to

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81186529717?pwd=QTVicFhXbUlOK1BUbzgvdU5vSjkxZz09

Or call 646-876-9923 and input meeting ID 811 8652 9717 and password 05242021.

For updates on the towns of Coventry and Tolland, follow Michelle France on Twitter: @MFranceReport, Facebook: Michelle France, and Instagram: @MFranceReport.

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