NEW BERLIN – The Village of New Berlin Board voted this month to modify a two-year-old land offer to Milford Academy after both were unable to come to an agreement.

The land debate has contributed to the possible relocation of a popular community event and the cancellation of a building project at the school.

The New Berlin Youth Days Committee said following its 50th Anniversary Celebration this summer, the Milford Academy grounds where the event has been held for the last half century will no longer be made available.

Milford bought the Main Street park area eight years ago and agreed at the time to rent the location to the Youth Days event for at least the following year, said Milford Director Bill Chaplick. Chaplick said the school now needs the area to develop additional practice fields for incoming students in 2012. He added the event’s “thousands of visitors and heavy tractor trailer sized equipment” caused significant damage to the grounds, making them unusable as practice fields.

“We love Youth Days, (committee coordinator) Larry Lloyd has always been great and for the last seven years we’ve been glad to volunteer the property for the event, but things are developing here at the school. We need to put the school’s needs and our students’ needs first,” said Chaplick.

The timing of the decision to no longer offer the privately-owned grounds drew concern from New Berlin Mayor Wade Schrag as the village and Milford continue to disagree on the details of a land usage agreement involving two playing fields behind the school. Schrag said the school was “adding pressure” to finalize an agreement.

The decision also had Youth Days Committee members asking village trustees about possible tensions with Milford Academy at the January board meeting, confirmed Lloyd.

“We’ve always had a very good and honest understanding with Mr. Chaplick and Milford. We thank them for all their years of support,” said Lloyd. “I think it will be very hard going forward at a new location. I’m worried this year’s might be the last Youth Days.”

“A long, long time ago they tried having (Youth Days) behind Milford at Fish Field; I think maybe they tried a few other spots, but in each case the event drew a lot less people. The Main Street location in front of Milford is really at the center of the village and I can’t imagine it getting the focus it’s gotten anywhere else,” he said.

The Village of New Berlin first approved the sale of Fish Field to Milford Academy in a resolution passed in February 2009 for $4,600 an acre, for roughly 10 acres of land. Two baseball fields are located on the property that are used by the Unadilla Valley Youth Baseball and Softball Association.

The specific accommodations for the Little League have caused obstacles in Milford’s plans to purchase the site from the village since the beginning.

Schrag said according to New York State Law, the village must create another park of equal size as part of the agreement. Two original replacement locations in the Town of New Berlin were later deemed unusable by engineers.