Dickinson Park Board denies turf infield bid for Southside Ballpark

• Mike Lefor

Press Photo by Ashley Martin Dickinson Park Board President Mike Lefor speaks during a meeting at the West River Community Center on Monday afternoon.

Talk about it

The cost to install a turf infield at the Southside Municipal Ballpark came in at $75,000 more than estimated, so the Dickinson Park Board is reevaluating the project.

The board unanimously rejected a $350,000 bid from FieldTurf during its Monday afternoon meeting at the West River Community Center.

Dickinson Parks and Recreation will break up the construction items and rebid to try to lower the cost, said James Kramer, director of Parks and Recreation.

“By doing that I think we can get some local participation,” he said.

However, if that doesn’t lower the cost, the area where turf is installed may need to be downsized, Kramer said.

After the meeting, he said preliminary estimates put the cost at about $10 a square foot, but the bid came in at about $13 a square foot.

“Because of the soil makeup, it kind of changed the scope of the work,” Kramer said. “So we’re going back and doing a little bit of redesign and trying to change some of the actual specifications and we’ll be rebidding right at the end of the year.”

Installing turf infield would eliminate a lot of maintenance, he added.

“In the spring, when we have high school and college baseball, that’s when a lot of the play on our field takes place and that’s kind of when the field is still dormant, so it’s hard on it.”

Astoria Hotel and Convention Center donated $150,000 to the project. The field will be named Astoria Field, Kramer said.

In other matters, board members also discussed increased usage of the WRCC in recent months during Monday’s meeting. Dickinson Parks and Recreation is planning to expand the facility to meet demand.

“Throughout the day, you can tell there’s added facility usage,” said Matt Mack, WRCC facilities manager. “This added membership is a great thing, but it also has an effect on who’s working here and what they have to keep up with.”

Park Board President Mike Lefor said surveys are being done to determine what parts of the WRCC are used most.

“We all know our office space need is critical,” Lefor said.

Kramer said they should have a plan for the expansion ready by spring.

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