At Tuesday's Township Committee meeting, Committeeman Jerry Ryan explained that repairs to DeHart Park will need to be made in the spring, resulting in some loss of playing time on the field.

"A previously undetected problem with installation of the sod" was cited as the problem with the field. "We will need to re-sod part in the spring," said Ryan. He said that the town would need to notify the Village of South Orange and the school district, which also use the field for sports. "We did this before, when the field was renovated," said Ryan, noting that the towns and district would need to work together to find a way to accommodate league schedules.

Ryan later elaborated: "We believe that there were errors made in the installation: netting on the back of the sod was left on when the sod was installed. We do have to address it and get it done right once and for all, and, unfortunately, that might cost some field time in the spring."

Ryan told the Township Committee that "a lot of people are disappointed" and that some had approached him suggesting that now was the time to install a turf field or at least not use an organic field surface. Neither possibility is feasible, said Ryan.

DeHart Park has previously been the subject of much controversy. At one time, the town had received a grant to install a turf field. However, community members opposed to turf where able to have to town put the question to a referendum. The turf option was then defeated.

The field officially re-opened on Dec. 3, 2010 with natural grass after a $1,332,600.80 renovation performed by Turco Golf of Suffern, NY.

Committeeman Marlon K. Brownlee asked Ryan if he had a sense of how long the field would be out of commission — one month? two? Ryan said that the time of repairs would all be a "function of the weather."

Maplewood Township Counsel Roger Desiderio noted that "a great deal of the problem is the contractor's responsibility," suggesting that the repairs should not result in a cost on the town.