Officials with the Waukesha Youth Football League - an organization that runs popular tackle football programs for pre-high school athletes – are awaiting a meeting with Waukesha officials to discuss the future of one of its main facilities – Haertel Field, near Newhall Ave. and the Canadian National railroad tracks.

Fred Abadi, city director of public works, says the city wants to turn the northern part of Haertel Field into a detention pond to hold storm water that floods basements of nearby homes in the spring.

Last spring, one home suffered $150,000 in damage, Abadi said.

The city also wants to convert the existing football field into a spill-over basin for storm water that the detention pond could not hold.

To accomplish that, the bottom of large, six-foot-deep basin would become the new playing field, Abadi said.

Since the storm water problem happens in the spring, the field should be dry and available for the fall sport, he said.

The storm water issue is caused by the topography of the area. Storm sewers cannot handle the rush of water from the high grounds of Catholic Memorial and Waukesha South high school neighborhoods.

Storm water runs down College Ave. and collects at the rise at the Canadian National tracks that cross College at Maple Ave, forcing the water into the homes of adjacent basements, a perennial problem, Abadi said.

Storm water would be funneled away from the congestion point and sent into the basin, where it would evaporate or filter into the ground.

Ted Schneider, president of  the YFL, said his group has used the Waukesha School District field for almost 20 years. The YFL recently spent $125,000 to build a second floor press box onto its equipment building, he said.

“We’re definitely concerned about what’s going on there,” he said of the proposal.

The concerned parties heard about the city’s proposal at a School Board committee meeting last week. The city was reminded that the property has a deed restriction that restricts its use to athletic activities.

Several years ago, plans to build affordable housing units there were killed because of the deed restrictions.

“What’s going to happen to the field?” Schneider asked during an interview.

The committee suggested that the city consider purchasing Haertel Field from the district. It also directed the city and YFL to conduct a meeting.

Abadi said a purchase was not in the plans.

Abadi said that using the field during the off season to hold stormwater does not alter, but simply modifies its use, he said.

The slope to get down to the field, which the city will rebuild with better drainage beneath it, will be gentle, he said.

Abadi called the city plan “a win-win” situation.