By RITA FERRANDINO
Staff Writer

Victor Alfieri is stepping up to the plate for another swing at a baseball camp—this time in the town of Warren, just west of the Springfield border in Herkimer County.

The possibility that Alfieri might be pursuing the opportunity to purchase the Glimmerglass Motel on Route 20 came up at a meeting of the Springfield planning board last Thursday night, but planning board chairman Jim Willsey made it clear that it was just a rumor — so far.

But Alfieri confirmed the reality of his plan on Tuesday. He is going to start off slow, he said, with a baseball academy requiring the creation of three fields so the operation can begin in August. His primary objective, he said, is to be a benefit to the community and implement a plan that maintains the integrity of his vision.

"I am going to be spending every penny I have on this project and I am going to be living and working in this community," he said. "This is going to be a learning experience for us and a benefit to the community. I would like to see it get revitalized. Herkimer County is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I'm starting very slowly, building this place up one step at a time. I would never do anything to harm the community in any way."

The baseball academy will have three two-hundred foot fields, and coaches such as Tony Ferrara, a former New York Yankees batting coach, will be on hand to take a modern approach to strengthening young players, age twelve and under, Alfieri said. Parents and children will be staying together for five days and four nights, and academy staff will be living in one of the homes on the Glimmerglass Motel property, Alfieri said.

The camp will begin by housing not more than forty-five people, Alfieri said, and he plans to use the Glimmerglass Motel for this purpose. He will be applying to put two more rooms on the motel, he said.

But over time he is hoping to expand to a full baseball tournament camp like The Dreams Park in Hartwick Seminary.

"I wouldn't rule that out in the future," Alfieri said. "This is going to be a large undertaking."

On Monday afternoon, Glimmerglass Motel owner Beatrice Hunt hosted Alfieri and a group of engineers as they stood in a field on the property's three acres.

"He didn't buy anything yet," said Hunt. "He's here conducting business and he'll let us know what he wants to do."

Hunt has owned the ten-unit motel for thirteen years, and she said it's been on sale for a long time.

"He's here as my guest browsing the property," Hunt said. "Right now there's nothing definite to say. But I will know more next week."

Robin Shoen, a Real Property Tax Service aide in Herkimer County, said that no land in Warren was listen in Victor Alfieri's name at present.

On Tuesday, a field next to the Glimmerglass Motel, owned by Anna Herko, was being bulldozed. Herko could not be reached for comment.

"People don't want to say much about it," said Bob Fahey, who lives across the street from the field, "but it's a big deal. It isn't going to hurt me any. It's going to help me. So it will be noisy a couple of months of the year. The rumor is that this guy bought a huge chunk of land."

Fahey and his bother, Don, are already discussing plans to put a motel on Don's property.

"I was surprised to see them bulldozing today," said Don Fahey. "I guess now it's definite. You talk to one person, you get one story. Talk to another, you get another story. They want to keep the process a secret and you can't blame them."

"Springfield just kicked them out," Bob Fahey said. "They didn't want them. But it's not going to hurt anybody. It's going to be super, the biggest thing that ever happened in Herkimer County."

Alfieri's first attempt to build a baseball camp coincided with the creation of the Springfield planning board in December of 2000. In October of that year, Alfieri's plans to purchase the 80-acre Diamond Tee Batting and Driving Range on Route 31 went public. From 1968-88 Alfieri ran a baseball tournament in Rockland County, the location of his primary home.

"All of the proceeds were donated to charity," Alfieri said at the time. "We hosted the Challenger Games for disabled people, and that's something I'm still interested in pursuing. I want to make a contribution to the local community and economy, not construct an eyesore."

His plan at the time was to work with engineers to complement the local environment.

"I want this to be harmonious with the land and the people, not a stark, ugly place," he said.

At that time, Alfieri stated that he had met with no obstacles in the town of Springfield. That quickly changed in December, when the planning board faced off with Diamond Tee owner Ross Valenza, who did not believe the project was subject to the new law.

Willsey requested that Valenza submit paperwork for review but Valenza declined and wound up threatening legal action. Willsey warned Valenza that if he chose to pursue development without following the proper channels, the board would "initiate legal action to stop him." The project petered out over time, after Valenza said he had seen "what happened in Hartwick" and that he didn't want to go bankrupt trying to get a plan approved. He said that the creation of the Springfield planning board, while made of "people with good intentions," was "inexperienced nevertheless."

Alfieri pulled his financial support of the project in July of 2001, citing private reasons.

Willsey said on Monday that a baseball camp in nearby Warren would likely have a positive impact on Springfield motels and eating establishments.

Warren planning board secretary Virginia Woolfe said there are no zoning laws in Warren and that the planning board deals mainly with subdivisions.

"The rest comes before the town board," Woolfe said, "and the state takes care of building codes."

A recorded statement at Alfieri's office revealed that he is no longer engaged in the private practice of law due to his judicial and other responsibilities.

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