Allis Township ball field nearing completion
by Angie Asam, Staff Writer
A project that originally began 20 years ago has turned into something more as the ball field in Allis Township is nearing completion. It was 1990 when the township purchased the additional land around the township hall so more space could be available for a parking lot and room for a ball field, playground equipment and an outdoor pavilion.
At that time Wayne Vermilya and his six-year-old son approached the township board about starting the ball field to be used as a practice field for T-ball and family reunions as well as other gatherings.
As time went on the field got more and more use with most of the Little League T-ball games being played there and many T-ball teams practicing on the field as they really had no where else to go.
?When we first proposed to build a ball field we were not sure if it would be used. The board was a little skeptical at first so we only built what we needed for practice. As it turned out, it gets used a lot and is a real nice place to play ball. It was a real good place to build a ball field,? said Vermilya.
Last year Vermilya got together with Dean Estep about helping him with the backstop at the field. The duo went in front of the board with a proposal to replace the backstop and possibly get some fence work done. The board put money in the budget for improvements at the field.
Estep and Vermilya began gathering estimates and proposals for the improvements and taking them to the board for review. Jim McDade submitted a very reasonable quote for a backstop and fence replacement, which left money in the budget for fence dugouts. With the fences down the two discovered there would be no better time to have the infield resurfaced. Working with Nash Excavating, who mixed and hauled the infield dirt, Estep and Vermilya were able to have the field resurfaced.
Township trustee Mark Dean built dugout roofs and the project was planned to be completed before winter but early snow shut the project down before everything coul
The wood fence has been replaced with permanent fence. The Boy Scouts, who use the hall for monthly meetings, have asked to help so they are working on the dugout benches, which Vermilya hopes to install soon as the dugouts need a little more work before the project will be completed. Estep and Vermilya did have to work out some subtle differences when working on the project as Estep is very interested and involved in softball while Vermilya?s focus was on baseball.
?We had some interesting discussions before the township board and they must have thought we were crazy. They stuck with us and the project moved forward. Dean and I have become friends around the ball programs, each of us very passionate about the game and the kids who play it. We are sure that they will like the improvements,? said Vermilya.