Franklin scoreboard to stay put, for now

FRANKLIN — After a plea from Wallkill Valley Junior Football League board member and coach Rob Van Eeuwen, Franklin’s Borough Council has decided to hold off on making a decision regarding the future of the scoreboard at the Franklin Pond sports field.

Van Eeuwen and the league want the scoreboard at the Franklin Pond (pictured) to be moved to the Wheatsworth Park facility.

After switching to the Morris County Midget Football League from the North Jersey Youth Football League, Van Eeuwen and the league board were advised that Franklin’s field did not meet the new league’s more rigorous standards. While the Wallkill Valley teams, which are comprised of children throughout the Wallkill Valley sending district, are able to move their home games to the Wheatsworth Park facility in Hardyston, Van Eeuwen proposed the scoreboard be moved as well so those kids would be able to have “the same experience” as the rest of their league.

Councilman Mark Zschack asked whether the field at the Franklin Pond could be enlarged in order to accommodate the new league’s standards, but Borough Administrator Jim Kilduff said the expansion would be “logistically impossible” as the overall area is not large enough.

Councilman Joe Limon questioned why the board decided to leave the NJYFL in the first place, as he believed the drive to some of the Morris County towns — as far as Madison — would be a turnoff to parents of children in the league.

Van Eeuwen explained their reasoning. “It's a challenge for the coaches and kids to bring it to the next level,” he said. Kids and coaches got tired of playing the same three teams over and over again, he added, which made switching to the 23-team MCMFL a no-brainer for them.

Councilman Nick Giordano was also against removing the sign. “There is a lot of history in that pond area,” he said, and he regrets having seen the borough’s rich sports history leave town. “If we take the scoreboard down,” he added, “you’re gone forever.”

Franklin Mayor Paul Crowley added to the discussion as well. “If we can’t use it in Franklin,” he said, “I don’t see any reason not to give it to you.” As the sign was purchased by the football league, he added, they have a right to keep it. Crowley had one stipulation, though: “If the council feels that football may come back to our pond area, we should keep it.”

Recreation committee member Joe Martinez spoke up on behalf of his committee about keeping the sign. “I think it’s premature to say football won’t come back to the area,” he said. In the meantime, he added, the scoreboard can be used by the soccer teams that share the field.

In the end, Crowley decided to meet with the sports teams and recreation committee over the next month and make a decision at the May 28 borough council meeting.