PHOTO CAPTION: Trevor McLean at bat and catcher Patrick Hefferner play on the Teddy Ebersol Red Sox Fields.

Despite a unanimous vote in favor of the project from the committee responsible for the maintenance of Teddy Ebersol Red Sox Fields, the fate of a proposed steel fence that would surround the youth baseball and soccer fields on the Charles River Esplanade is now uncertain, pending requests for a public review process.
In early April, the Friends of Teddy Ebersol Red Sox Fields, consisting of nominated representatives from three local non-profits, Hill House, the Esplanade Association and the Red Sox Foundation, recommended that state’s Department of Recreation and Conservation (DCR) build a 6-foot ornamental fence to replace a temporary chain-link fence that now encloses the athletic fields. Dedicated on June 10, 2006, the Teddy Ebersol Red Sox Fields honor the memory of Edward “Teddy” Ebersol, the 14-year-old son of broadcasting giant Dick Ebersol who was tragically killed in a 2004 plane crash in Montrose County, Colo. The Friends group contributed nearly $2 million to the construction of the fields and continues to spend $100,000 each year on their maintenance.
DCR recently announced it has allocated funding for the approximately $190,000 cost of building the fence from the $4 million budget for repairs to Storrow Drive, according to DCR spokesperson Wendy Fox. “The main purpose of the fence is to protect kids from traffic on Storrow Drive, as well as from the bicyclists and pedestrians on the Esplanade path, and to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from ballplayers chasing fly balls,” she said.
Soon after the Friends’ group voted in favor of the fence, the Esplanade Association board of directors decided against the proposal. Jeryl Oristaglio, president of the Esplanade Association, maintains that although the organization’s representative to the Friends group had voted in favor of the fence, he cast his ballot on his own behalf and hadn’t consulted with the Esplanade Association board before that time.
“The Esplanade Association believes that there should be a public meeting about the fence proposal and to review other options to achieve the objectives of all of the interested parties and the general public's interests,” Oristaglio said. “The Esplanade Association is not supporting the Friends’ fence proposal because our research indicates there are other field management strategies that are being used by other historic parks that we believe should be reviewed by the DCR and the Friends and implemented on the Esplanade.”
On April 17, the fence plan met with further resistance when Secretary of State William Galvin, who chairs the Massachusetts Historical Commission, overruled the commission’s staff decision in favor of the fence, even though it found that the fence would have no “adverse effects” on the Esplanade.
“The question that hasn’t been satisfactorily addressed in some people’s minds is the public access issue,” Galvin said. “We want to give people adequate time to be heard.” (The Boston Conservation Commission has still yet to weigh in on the matter).
State Rep. Marty Walz, who first alerted Galvin to the Historical Commission’s decision, also believes the public should be more involved in resolving the fence issue.
“I do not know if a fence is necessary, in large measure because insufficient information has been provided to my constituents and me,” Walz said. “Before a portion of the Esplanade is fenced off, we all need to know if a fence is necessary or if there are alternatives that would achieve DCR's goals.”
David Beardsley, executive director of Hill House, still believes the proposed fence would accomplish the goal of protecting children on the fields.
"Hill House wants a permanent fence installed to protect children who use the athletic fields,” Beardsley said. “On busy weekends, we have hundreds of children on the fields, and the proximity to the busy bike path and river pose real child-safety risks that must be addressed. DCR's proposed fence would help to limit those child-safety risks. Playgrounds along The Esplanade are fenced, presumably for safety reasons. The same need for safety applies to these athletic fields"
Meanwhile, Meg Vaillancourt, executive director of the Red Sox Foundation, said a fence is also essential to preserving the once-unusable athletic fields that the Friends group has worked to revitalize over the past five years.
“These fields are well used and well loved. They are also well cared for, thanks to the small but very dedicated DCR staff and help from generous supporters who donated funds to supplement the state’s limited maintenance budget,” Vaillancourt said. “We hope that with appropriate concern for public safety and operations, everyone will be able to enjoy them for a long time to come.”
The public will have an opportunity to review and comment on the fence proposal at a meeting regarding the rehabilitation of Storrow Drive later this month, DCR spokesperson Fox said.

PHOTO CAPTION: One highlight of the the Beacon Hill Garden Club's 80th Anniversary Tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill, a recently renovated member garden on Walnut Street (seen above), is built on a hill and offers a unique design on different elevations.

The Beacon Hill Garden Club will sponsor its 80th anniversary tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill later this month, marking a milestone for what is most likely the longest-running yearly event of its kind in the U.S.
The inaugural tour took place on May 20 and June 3, 1929, when all 11 members of the fledgling organization opened their gardens to the public for the first time. The cost of admission was $1, and the event remarkably went on to raise more than $1,000. In the following months, Garden Club members voted to use the earnings for its first round of charitable donations, including the organization’s first public planting projects.
This year’s tour, chaired by Sonja Yates and Rita Robert, will feature the gardens of 12 members, four of which will be open to the public for the first time. One tour highlight, a recently renovated member garden on Walnut Street, is built on a hill and offers a unique design on different elevations. The member gardens will be completely accessible to guests. Four other non-member gardens are “ribbon gardens,” which will be cordoned off with ribbons so tour-goers can view the gardens without entering them.
In keeping with the anniversary theme, the Community Music Center Jazz Trio] will evoke the sounds of the “Roaring Twenties” during a midday performance in the garden at the Church of the Advent on Brimmer Street. (They will play inside the church, if the weather is inclement). Complimentary tea and refreshments will also be served until 4 p.m. at the church, where the Garden Club will sell postcards, posters and books, including the Garden Club’s own “Hidden Garden’s of Beacon Hill Fourth Edition,” among other garden-related items.
And in the tradition of the Garden Club’s philanthropic spirit, the group donates the bulk of the approximately $40,000 it earns from the tour each year to local, regional and even a few national non-profits. Ginger Lawrence, the organization’s public relations chair, said, “We support organizations related to plants, gardening, conservation, parks, environment and especially programs or projects that relate one or more of those interests to children or education.”
Of the remaining funds, 10 percent is set aside for a “challenge grant”. This fund grows for no more than three years before a lump sum of roughly $15,000 is awarded to a worthy Boston-based program or project.
“By setting a time limit for distribution of the challenge grant funds we avoid the temptation to hoard money for years and years,” Lawrence said, adding that the butterfly garden at the Boston Nature Center in Mattapan is just one past challenge grant recipient.
Lawrence said a small portion of the tour earnings are also used for the maintenance of public gardens, including two that were created by the Garden Club, the Memorial Garden at the Old North Church and the Peter Faneuil Garden on South Russell Street. “It’s also important to understand that Garden Club members themselves physically work in these gardens,” she added.
With Mother’s Day upon us, Lawrence said tickets to the tour would make a unique gift.
“In the last couple of years, we have had adult children bring their mothers on the tour,” Lawrence said. “It’s like giving flowers to your mother in a different way.”
The Beacon Hill Garden Club’s 80th Anniversary Tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill takes place on Thursday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets are $30 each or $35 on the day of the event. For more information, visit www.beaconhillgardenclub.org/tour.html or call 617-227-4392.

The Boston Water & Sewer Commission (BWSC) is undertaking a rehabilitation project in Beacon Hill and the Back Bay in which it will install fabric liners to help support the structures of existing sewage lines and storm drains.
According to Irene McSweeny, director of construction for the BWSC, the objectives of the project include eliminating ground water infiltration into the sewer lines and storm drains, preventing contamination of surrounding soils, reinforcing the structure of damaged pipes and reducing future construction costs. Excavation will generally not be required for the project, which is expected to have a minimal impact on traffic in the work areas.
Project limits in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill are Beacon Street between Brimmer and Charles streets, Charles Street between Revere and Chestnut streets, Chestnut Street between Brimmer and Charles streets, Mt. Vernon Street between Mugar Way and Brimmer Street, Dartmouth Street between Public Alleys No. 419 and No. 439, Exeter Street between Boylston and Blagden streets, Trinity Place between St. James Avenue and Stuart Street, Berkeley Street between Stuart and Stanhope streets, Stuart Street between Arlington and Stanhope streets, Church Street between Winchester and Melrose streets, Draper’s Lane between Ivanhoe and Upton streets, Park Plaza between Arlington Street and Hadassah Way and Upton Street between Shawmut Avenue and Drapers Lane.
“We’re only rehabilitating sections that really need to be done,” McEwen said.
The project is already underway in Beacon Hill and is should be completed by the end of August, with exception of Dartmouth Street, where steam was found in the pipes, according to McSweeney. (As a result, no timeframe has given for work on Dartmouth Street). Each individual job is expected to take approximately one day to complete, and the liners have an estimated lifespan of 75 years. The entire cost of the project, which also includes work in the South End, is approximately $2 million.
McSweeney said television cameras would be inserted in the sewer lines and storm drains prior to the installation of the liners to confirm the sewer size, check for root intrusion and locate protruding laterals from individual homes and buildings. After the liners are installed, the cameras will again be inserted in the lines and drains to confirm that service is active.
Residents will receive notices from BWSC several days before work begins in their neighborhoods and can visit the BWSC Web site at www.bwsc.org for weekly updates on construction.