Monroe County approves $80,000 additional appropriation to address storm runoff at Cars Farm Park

Monroe County Councilors on Tuesday unanimously approved a parks department request to appropriate an additional $80,000 from the parks nonreverting capital fund to help pay for stormwater and sediment-control work tied to synthetic athletic-field improvements at Cars Farm Park.

Kelly Whitmer of the parks department explained that recent heavy storms exposed unfinished erosion-control work on farmland owned by the Monroe County Airport across a railroad line. Water flowed under culverts next to the park project, inundating the new field area with sediment and prompting engineers to require an upgraded sediment basin and additional erosion control.

"I'm not asking you for a penny. Just permission to spend the money that we already have," Whitmer told the council. She said the parks board has $20,000 already appropriated in the contractual line; the requested $80,000 would bring available project funds to $100,000. Whitmer said the total project cost is expected to be $114,000 and the department will find the balance from other sources.

Whitmer said the parks department coordinated with the airport and the county stormwater office and that each entity will address its side of the tracks to prevent future runoff onto the new turf fields.

Council members asked about timing for the synthetic fields. Whitmer said crews hoped to complete most work by October, weather permitting, with additional fields scheduled for play in 2026. She confirmed much of the project is funded with ARPA dollars, supplemented by bonds and parkboard contributions.

With no public comment on the item, the council held a roll-call vote; the motion to approve the appropriation passed unanimously.

The council did not change the project scope; the action approved use of available nonreverting capital funds for the additional contracted work to protect the field and its drainage.