The city of Seymour has several projects in the works at local parks this summer to improve parking, restrooms and ball diamonds.
Recently, the board of public works and safety approved around $92,000 in work to be done at Kasting, Shields and Gaiser parks and Freeman Field Recreational Facility.
The biggest change that will have the most impact is renovations to the playing fields at Kasting and Shields.
“At the four diamonds at Kasting, we will be removing the grass so that they can be used for both softball and baseball,” said Bob Tabeling, parks and recreation director.
This will increase the use of the fields and help attract more tournaments to Seymour, he said.
“The fields at Shields will have grass put in so our youth leagues can continue playing on grass infields,” he said. “These changes will benefit both the Seymour Youth League and the tournament structure we have been creating over the last several years.”
Seymour Youth League teams will begin playing at Shields diamonds in 2018 with 9-10-year-old boys on one field and 11-12-year-olds on the other.
“The change at Kasting will assist in the growth of the tournament environment, which continues to climb,” Tabeling said.
In 2016, approximately 300 teams participated in tournaments in Seymour. This year, that number is closer to 500 teams, and next year, with the changes, is expected to exceed 700 teams.
“The ability to bring in tournaments of that magnitude will bring in millions of dollars of revenue,” Tabeling said.
The work, which is estimated to cost around $20,000, should be completed by the end of August or September.
It is being paid for through a $10,000 grant from the Jackson County Visitor Center along with matching funds from the parks department’s tournament funds.
“Based on figures from the Jackson County Visitor Center, we can see a positive impact on our community,” Tabeling said.
Also at Kasting and at Freeman Field, the parking lots will be seal coated in September to fill in cracks that have developed in the asphalt. That work will cost just under $25,000.
“We want to protect these areas since they receive the highest level of traffic,” Tabeling said.
Mayor Craig Luedeman said he recently visited both parks and agreed the parking lots needed attention.
“They are in desperate need of having this done,” Luedeman said. “The parks department has all the money budgeted. It’s just a matter of us approving the contracts.”
The third project involves converting the former concession stand at Gaiser Park into public restrooms.
Tabeling said the existing restroom facility, which is located in the department’s workshop building, was in need of repairs anyway, and since the concession stand building is no longer used and is more centrally located in the park, it made sense to turn it into restrooms.
The new facility will include family-style restrooms with changing tables to better accommodate families with young children, he said.
The cost of the project is slightly more than $47,000.
Luedeman said moving the restrooms also would better protect the department’s equipment, including mowers, that is stored in the workshop building.
“Actually, there is a door in the men’s restroom that leads into the shop, so it’s a matter of keeping people from going in there and getting hurt or damaging our equipment,” he said.