Elberta’s Sportsplex project going strong

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 7/20/20

ELBERTA - The Town of Elberta’s Sportsplex is quickly taking shape, with all the infields in place.

The location’s gone through elevation changes to allow drainage into a pond located on the …

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Elberta’s Sportsplex project going strong

Posted

ELBERTA - The Town of Elberta’s Sportsplex is quickly taking shape, with all the infields in place.

The location’s gone through elevation changes to allow drainage into a pond located on the corner of the property, meaning no water leaves the site while still allowing for rapid drainage. Due to the design, teams will be able to play shortly after a rain event.

“We have not sprigged the grass in as of yet because we’re going to put sprinkler systems on a number of those fields beforehand,” said Mayor Jim Hamby. “We’re in the process right now of getting power on the property so that we can put pumps in so we’ll have the water for the irrigation. So power first, then the pumps so we can run them and see how much water they put out, and then the sprinkler system will go in based on how much water the wells are pumping out.”

The grass will be sprigged in shortly after the sprinklers are installed. Hamby hopes to see this happen by Sept. 1, if not sooner.

Concrete has been laid in small patches to mark construction of sidewalks that will form a U-shape and allow visitors to walk from one field to the other. Playground equipment has been donated from the Elberta Middle School to go on the property as well. The playground will be placed after the grass has been sprigged.

In addition, Elberta has applied for a RC&D grant to be used with an individual donation. The grant, which typically is given out in increments of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, was awarded to Elberta last year in the form of $14,000. No match from the town is required. The town is asking for the maximum of $15,000.

“We are going to pair up another donation that we received from an individual as a match as an inducement to them to award the money to the town,” Hamby said.

The donated money is going to be used to create a shaded structure at the Sportsplex property. The structure will allow for a picnic area for families, as well as shelter during a rain shower or from the sun on hot summer days.

If the RC&D grant is awarded, Hamby hopes to add sidewalks leading to and from the shaded area.

“It will be a 24 by 30-foot roofed area, so we thought that we would try to use this grant money if we were to receive it to put the concrete underneath the area and then sidewalks around it,” he said.