Chatham-Kent is reminding the public that sports fields marked as ‘permit-use only’ are reserved for permit holders.
In particular, baseball diamonds with this designation require regular maintenance for better quality of play.
The municipality explained that maintenance days and times are communicated with contractors so they know when they should be able to access the field to cut the grass.
“We’ve had a few instances this season where our grass-cutting contractors have been unable to cut the field because of the presence of unauthorized groups who refused to vacate,” said Ian Clark, CK’s Manager of Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries. “If we cannot cut the grass on schedule it results in poor facility conditions.”
It’s also believed that unauthorized infield activity puts more work on permit-holding teams and volunteers who must clean the infield before their booked playing times.
Sports fields without ‘permit-use only’ signage are available to the public for casual use, however, the municipality said that people should always yield the field to maintenance workers. They added that no fields should be used during wet conditions, as it could cause damage.