Board approves $23,000 engineering study for Huntsville baseball and softball site work

The Huntsville School District board approved $23,000 on a motion to CEI to expand engineering work for two ball fields, a retention pond and a proposed parking/road area near the new city water park.

The engineering work will produce graded plans and cost estimates so the district can solicit bids and determine whether the district, local baseball/softball boosters and the City of Huntsville will share construction costs. "So my proposal would be that we do pay this $23,000 to CEI for engineering, the additional work around the baseball, softball, the parking, and the retention area," Superintendent Bruce Dunlap said before the motion.

District leaders told the board the baseball/softball organization that had already committed money to the project may contribute six-figure sums toward field leveling but likely would not cover all costs. Board members and staff emphasized that the work must be engineered because it involves moving large amounts of earth and altering a retention pond near a flood plain.

Board discussion noted the mayor had raised the possibility of putting parking and a road at the bottom of the hill next to the water park and that the city had agreed in principle to discuss cost-sharing but had not made a formal commitment. "Until it's engineered, we don't know what we're getting into," Dunlap said. He added the district could still proceed with the engineered plans and defer construction until funding decisions were final.

The motion to approve the $23,000 engineering add-on to CEI passed by voice vote.

Board members asked staff to return with the engineering results and bids before authorizing construction or committing additional district funds. The engineering contract expansion is intended to inform decisions about grading, the retention pond relocation and whether the district will proceed with hydroseeded fields and modest indoor workout spaces as an initial build-out.