City Finance Committee has special meeting on ball diamond

Thursday, June 28, 2007 - Posted 6:49:41 PM

The City of Minonk Finance Committee met with local Minonk citizens seeking to return the Fieldcrest baseball games back to Minonk's Veterans Park.  The Fieldcrest Board of Education voted last spring to have Fieldcrest baseball games played in Wenona due to a request from the Fieldcrest baseball coach who said that the Minonk diamond does not drain well and results in  too many game cancellations due to rain.


Finance committee member and alderman Sean Cunningham said the City of Minonk intends to upgrade the baseball diamond at Veterans Park to make it playable for summer rec league play.  However, the City Council voted at a previous meeting not to spend $28,000 to erect a taller fence at the park which would be needed in order to host a regional tournament. 

Fieldcrest Board of Education member Tim McNamara told the committee that he was at the meeting to do more listening before making a decision on whether to move the ball games back to Minonk.  McNamara said that the Fieldcrest Board will make a decision at its next meeting on July 19.

The meeting was then opened to public comment.  Russell Ruestman asked the committee members if the City was willing to erect a temporary net fencing in order to satisfy the school's demand for upgrades to the ball diamond.

Commitee member and alderman Brian Petersen said he would agree to spend the money for the drainage and the net fencing if the school agrees to return the ball games to Minonk.  He added that the City should be able to do the necessary upgrades to the ball diamond including the net fencing within the original $25,000 budget.  Petersen said the original quote for $32,000 to do these upgrades included FEMA rates but the City can do that work for a lot less than the quote.

Rodney Ruestman said that governmental agencies should do a better job of communicating when determining costs on a project.  He added that lower cost estimates can be achieved by contacting contractors directly and also by eliciting volunteers.  Ruestman added that the City has a moral obligation to keep the ball games in Minonk to remember those who donated their time and money to construct the ball park over 40 years ago.

Dave Uphoff asked Fieldcrest board member Tim McNamara why the Board of Education is not sticking to their policy that stipulated that ball games should be played in the same community in which the school is located.  He added that Minonk has allowed Fieldcrest free use of its ball parks but now the City is being held hostage by the school to fix up the diamond to their standards.  He asked why doesn't the school pay for improvements to the ball diamond if they want to use them. 

Russell Ruestman asked what the agreement was between the school and the city in regards to the use of the ball diamond and the football field.

Committee member Sean Cunningham said he thought that the school had a 99 year lease with the City. 

Ruestman asked if this agreement was with the former MDR district or with Fieldcrest. 

Cunnningham said he didn't know but would check and find out.

Ruestman said that maybe the answer to this question will resolve the baseball issue once and for all.
 
                        Viewer comments on this article

minonk resident wrote on 7/3/2007 at 13:40:50

I think the school should pay for some upkeeps. I'm sure we have some referendum money left after hiring a "assistant principal" we didn't need a few years ago. What classes have been reinstated? Maybe the people making these decisions should live in our district and have kids in our district! Keep the high school games in Minonk.

Play Ball wrote on 7/3/2007 at 08:15:48

The City Of Minonk & The Fieldcrest School Board both need to quit the behind the scense ego trips and just do what is right for the community and the kids. Minonk needed to fix the ball diamonds anyway because it was long over due. And the school needs to communicate better with the City and learn to work with them not against them. Work together not against each other.

Fred Baker wrote on 6/30/2007 at 05:47:50

Mowed the ball diamond's for 8 years, did not know of water problem, water never stop me from mowing the grass.

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