By Dan Murphy
Former Mt. Vernon Mayor Ernie Davis has called for an investigation into what happened with the planned renovations, and illegal dumping, at Memorial Field. The former track and stadium, famous for its concerts including the Jackson Five, county football playoff games, and the filming of a popular Coke commercial, has been closed for more than 10 years.
Davis commented on a recent story in the Rising papers about Memorial Field, which he said did not properly characterize his position and involvement in the field’s decay. Davis said he has no knowledge of illegal dumping at the field and also claims to have not received, or had any role in the county funds delivered for the field’s restoration back in 2009, when he was mayor.
When asked point blank if he would like to see an investigation into what happened, Davis said yes, and added that he has been improperly accused of mismanaging the field by others in Mt. Vernon government and on the County Board of Legislators. Davis, former Mayor Richard Thomas and acting Mayor Andre Wallace now have all called for an investigation into what happened at Memorial Field.
In 2009, Westchester County agreed to fund $3.4 million in repairs to try and reopen Memorial Field. A recent audit found that only $69,000 remained, with the rest wasted or unaccounted for. A total of $12.7 million in Westchester taxpayer dollars was allocated for the field, but only $3.9 million was spent before questions arose about how the money was being spent.
Several years later, 50 tons of illegal debris was dumped at Memorial Field. That debris needs to be removed before any work can begin to rebuild a new field and track for the people of Mt. Vernon to use.
Wallace has taken the fist steps to do this. The City Board of Estimate approved a contract with Tully Environmental to remove the debris at a cost of $2.2 million. Original estimates for the cleanup were for $3.8 million.
“I promised the people of this city that we were going to move this project forward quickly, and I keep my promises,” said Wallace, who added that taxpayers were saved $1.6 million by finding a vendor to do the removal for less.
“Once the cleanup is complete and signed off, construction of a new Memorial Field facility – complete with a new grandstand, multi-use field and eight-lane track – will be performed by Westchester County,” wrote Wallace in a recent email blast.
County Executive George Latimer has offered to help rebuild the field and return it to the people of Mt. Vernon, but only if the environmental cleanup is complete. “Memorial Field is not necessarily the most important issue in Mount Vernon, but it may be the biggest symbolic issue,” he said. “When you see an iconic field that’s lay fallow for a decade or more, people lose faith. They lose hope.”
County Legislator Lyndon Williams, who represents Mt. Vernon on the BOL and has been at the forefront in trying to get to the bottom of what happened to county funds allocated to Memorial Field, said: “It is my job to get the funds from the county to help rebuild Memorial Field. $3.4 million in county funds were allocated to Mt. Vernon for Memorial Field in 2009. Some of that money was used for demolition, but some of the money was used for other purposes or is unaccounted for. I have also called for an investigation into what happened at Memorial Field and the illegal dumping that occurred.”
