Newark council foregoes talk of Newark Charter’s ask to build fields in city park

A potential partnership between Newark Charter School and Folk Memorial Park was taken off Monday night’s Newark City Council meeting agenda.

Newark Mayor Jerry Clifton decided to pull the discussion “in response to the valuable input from the community,” which includes concerns among several residents.

Concerns include PA systems, lighting installments, and clearing more than five acres of trees, according to Tom Coleman, city manager of Newark. 

Newark Charter’s proposal

Newark Charter School asked the city this past November to construct a baseball and softball field in a city park to address the lack of suitable land near its campus for expanding their athletic programs. 

The charter initially proposed the fields be constructed at Iron Glen Park, but that was determined to be unsuitable.

Folk Memorial Park was identified as a viable alternative to the fields.

The school wants a long-term agreement, similar to the arrangement between Salesianum School and the city of Wilmington for Abessinio Stadium.

“I know there’s been some concerns that charter schools get special treatment, and I’ll just push back on that and say that if Newark High School (Christina School District) reached out to us, we would have followed the same path, so it’s not special for the charter school, it’s just how we handle how we do things,” Coleman said.

In the proposal, Newark Charter would fund all construction costs, estimated at $3 million or more, which includes a small storage facility and the two ballfields, each of which will have seating (100-150 per field), dugouts, scoreboards, a public announcement system, fencing, and protective netting. 

The fields would be built on a wooded area next to Folk Memorial Park on Welsh Tract Road, and the city does not recommend the school include lights in its final plans. 

Newark Charter would be responsible for the maintenance of the fields and the city would be tasked with upkeeping the surrounding parkland, as it is now. 

The school would pay to construct an extension of the existing walking trail around the newly expanded park perimeter, and it will also pay for and construct an expansion of the existing parking lot.

Coleman pointed out that the agendas are posted a week ahead of time publicly with the intent being to get engagement. 

“No one was trying to sneak anything through, but that’s not how the narrative was picked up,” he said.

Clifton said he appreciates the community feedback. 

“After hearing from our neighbors, both in favor and against the project, the council recognizes the importance of further understanding the issues and ensuring that all points of view are considered before any decisions are made,” he said. “This approach will lead to a more informed recommendation.”

The city would have access to the park and other Newark Charter facilities for public activities for 30 hours every month if the proposal passes.

“Under city code, I could negotiate a contract without council approval – I can’t enter into it, but I could have negotiated it,” Coleman said, “but we didn’t feel that it was worth spending any additional time or money on it, without getting that feedback from council.”

It is unclear when the council will discuss the topic. 

But, the city will schedule a public information session with all stakeholders, allowing residents to engage with city and school officials, ask questions, and share their perspectives. 

The date and location of the meeting will be announced in the near future, the city stated.