The New Ipswich Select Board approved several bids for work to be done at the town’s ballfields in Memorial Park, with a decision about work to the town pool put off to next week.

The board met with Parks and Recreation Director Mindy Buxton on Tuesday to discuss several aspects of work for the park, including planned parking improvements for the upper field.

“We have a massive parking problem; it’s one of the biggest problems we have at that field is parking,” Buxton said.

Buxton said at the same time as the parking improvements, the work will also include some regrading and gravel work in order to alleviate water flowing into the softball field. She said water accumulating on the field has been an ongoing problem in the spring, and she worries the field will not be dry by the start of the season.

“The outfield is a pond; the infield is awful,” Buxton said.

She said using the parking work to try to alleviate the problem made the most sense. The work is expected to be paid for from the Parks and Recreation capital reserve, which has about $50,000. The board reviewed two bids for the project, including one provided by Buxton Company, owned by Mindy Buxton’s husband, Anthony Buxton. The board briefly discussed ways to provide a greater degree of separation for bids submitted in the future by Anthony Buxton, but ultimately awarded the bid for $9,400 for the parking work to Buxton Company.

The board also approved a bid from Salo Masonry for $9,000 for work on the field dugouts, including enclosing one of the existing dugouts to convert it to storage space.

Discussed, but not approved during Tuesday’s meeting, was extensive work that is needed for the town pool. Buxton explained that there are several issues that need to be addressed, some of which she has prioritized due to the scope of the work. The full scope includes replacing pool tiles, the coping (the decorative edge around the pool), the pool floor and the eight skimmers which collect debris from the water surface.

Buxton said the entire job had received estimates topping $100,000, exceeding the pool’s capital reserve account, which currently maintains a market value of $58,000. She said she spoke to the town’s insurance company, which advised the coping around the pool’s edge should be the main priority, due to safety. She said the replacement of the tiles and the coping were her current priorities.

Buxton had two quotes for replacement of the tiles and coping. Select Board Chair Shawn Talbot said he’d be more comfortable with three quotes, particularly as the job was significant. The two quotes were also currently not direct comparisons for the work, as one included the cost of replacing the skimmers, which currently is not part of the plan for this year.

“We’re getting into big numbers down at the park, which is good, because it needs updating,” Talbot said. “It doesn’t seem like we have enough information. It wouldn’t be a strong decision being made. I believe the project needs to be done. Dollars wise, I like to see three different choices.”

The board questioned when Buxton planned to open the pool for the season, and she said the current planned opening date is May 28, but it would depend on the work being completed and the new tiles and coping to be set before the pool is refilled.

The board agreed to table the decision an extra week to allow Buxton to contact the companies to provide aligned quotes, and to seek a potential third quote.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.