Carl Samuelson
Parks Superintendent
Newtown Township
The pace of athletic field construction has never been as intense as it is right now in Newtown, Connecticut.
“We built a new soccer field called Oakview Field,” said Carl Samuelson. “I have a new project in the budget right now called Glander 3, which is a new baseball field. We’ve installed an additional artificial turf field, and we’re building new athletic fields at the new Sandy Hook school.”
The Newtown team does all their own construction work, from rough-in to laser grade finishing. Yet these determined do-it-yourselfers understand the value of a second opinion. For Samuelson, Tom Irwin Advisors provides something very valuable: an independent perspective based on hard data.
“We did the Oakview Field entirely in-house,” he said. “All the soil analysis, all the grading, start to finish. We have the experience and expertise in-house to do that. But it’s important for answering questions and ensuring proper municipal oversight to have our in-house expertise backed up by an independent third party.”
Samuelson is now partnering with Tom Irwin Advisors on the new baseball field and it’s a very different experience.
“I received my PQS (Performance Quality Standards) report from Ian Lacy this morning,” said Samuelson. “So what it does for me is it validates all the testing I’m doing in-house. To me, that is huge. And the reason that’s huge is, I can go to any of my commissions or boards and say, ‘Look, we’ve been doing this testing, and I had an independent audit done to validate my testing.’ It provides them with that extra assurance that both our methods and science is solid.”
“Having Tom Irwin Advisors gives me that trump card. They’re a resource. A resource I don’t have with other vendors.”
Before Tom Irwin Advisors, it was impossible to get that kind of comprehensive, independent validation from a single source.
“Tom Irwin Advisors takes all of that different expertise and puts it under one roof, and provides complete and independent reports that I can take and share with the powers to be,” said Samuelson. “it’s providing me the data I need to take my fields to the next level.”
Samuelson has Tom Irwin Advisors developing specifications and performing analytical work on the new baseball diamond at Glander Field. Working closely with Tom Irwin Advisor’s lead project advisor Ian Lacy has been an eye-opening experience.
“Ian has actually sparked a lot of interest in me to learn how they do certain things over in Europe and why,” he noted. “A lot of those things are a lot more environmentally friendly, as opposed to doing it a certain way because that’s the way we’ve always done it. He has introduced new processes that we have integrated into our programs.”
The knowledge he has gained is complemented by the peace of mind he gets from working with Tom Irwin Advisors.
“Honestly, whatever I spend with Tom Irwin Advisors is a very cost effective investment for the budget dollars I could get in return. It’s well worth it.”