Park Board Moving Forward On Johnson Field Renovation

A bid for renovation of Johnson Field at the Ebbe Sports Complex was accepted during a special meeting held Wednesday afternoon at the park superintendent’s office.
The board accepted a bid for $37,503 from Performance Sports Fields and $18,492 from Aaron’s Lawn and Landscaping, for a total of $55,995. The renovation will be nearly identical to that being done on Griffin Field and the cost will be split equally by the Trenton R-9 School District and North Central Missouri College. The usage agreement among the park department, NCMC and R-9 mirrors that of Griffin Field.
Board members discussed the timeline for the work, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 21, and expressed their hope that if the weather is good, the contractor will be working on the project in order to get it completed as quickly as possible and have as little disruption in the ball schedules nex spring as possible. NCMC will play its spring 2014 season on Griffin Field.
Shuler was given permission to seek bids for the block work at Johnson Field, which will match the blocks at Griffin Field. Shuler said he will need to order only a small amount of block since it had already been ordered with that used on Griffin.
The board approved an agreement with the Trenton R-9 School District to operate the concession stand at the Ebbe Complex during the school softball seasons only. Several stipulations are included in the agreement, including that only Coca-Cola products may be sold, no raw or perishable foods may be stored or cooked in the stand and all products sold will be purchased from local vendors if at all possible. The agreement approved by the board is for a 25-year period with rent to be $1 per year. Either entity can terminate the agreement with 30 days notice.
Those voting in favor of the agreement were John Dolan, Gary Schuett, Robert Shields and Kari Whitaker, with Duane Helmandollar, who is an employee of the Trenton Coca-Cola Bottling Company abstaining. Board President Don Altes only votes in the case of a tie.
Board members also approved a bid from Grundy County Lumber for fencing at Moberly, Griffin and Grimes fields. The bid, which was for $9,397.01, was higher than a bid from Shoop and Sons of Illinois, which was $7,953,90, plus a $150 delivery charge. With the shipping, the difference in the two bids would have been $1,293.11. Board members felt that even though the difference falls outside the city’s 5 percent local purchasing policy, it was still in the best interest of the department to use the local vendor, who had provided help to the department in the past by unloading block.
Board members learned that the tubing project on the ditch north of Griffin Field now has an estimated cost of $7,708 thanks to a decision by the Trenton City Council to only charge a $2 per ton loading fee for asphalt millings that will be used in the project. The original estimate was $11,528. It is believed that about 650 tons of millings will be needed. The board publicly thanked the city, as well as Trenton Municipal Utilities, which helped move an electrical pole in the middle of the ditch and dug a hole for a flag pole base near the Bloss Whitney shelter house at the Ebbe Complex.
Board members agreed to not hold their regular October meeting next week, so unless a special meeting is needed, the board will meet again on Wednesday, Nov. 6.