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O'Fallon committee backs moving turf field, parking-lot work to full council to meet growing demand
Summary
Parks staff recommended accelerating turf installation for Championship Field 2 and new Fields 9 and 10 at the Family Sports Park, citing field shortages and up to $150,000 savings by completing work off-season alongside a parking-lot project. The committee voted to send the resolution and a related engineering contract to the full council.
Parks staff told the Parks & Environment Committee they want to exit the existing Vernon Jones Construction agreement and move forward now with turf installation for the championship Field 2 and two new turf fields (Fields 9 and 10) at the Family Sports Park to meet rising demand from local clubs and tournaments. "As it stands right now, we do not have enough fields to meet demand," the presenter said, noting recent tournaments had to find alternate sites.
The staff presentation argued two budget and scheduling advantages to starting the project this offseason: avoiding school-driven contractor bottlenecks that would delay work if started next May, and aligning the turf work with a separate parking-lot construction so the city would avoid restoring sidewalks and curbs twice. Staff estimated completing the work now could save “probably around a $150,000” compared with doing it next year, and recommended AstroTurf for the installation based on local experience.
Funding for the accelerated timing would come from the economic-development (hotel/motel) tax trust (Fund 51), staff said. They also recommended procuring through TIPS, the interlocal purchasing cooperative, which the presenter said produced competitive quotes from multiple turf vendors and recognized installers with local experience.
Committee members asked about turf lifespan and grass alternatives. Staff said previous installations have lasted 14–15 years and that the site plan includes two new premium grass fields to the south so teams could still opt to play on grass. A public commenter asked how much revenue the city could expect; staff estimated roughly $70,000 a year from seasonal rentals plus $20,000–$30,000 from additional baseball rentals—"roughly an additional $100,000 in income" from the two fields.
The committee approved sending the resolution to the full council for Monday’s meeting and separately moved an engineering contract extension for Millennial (to oversee parking-lot and fields together) forward by roll-call vote. The actions in committee are advisory; final approvals will come before the full City Council.
What comes next: staff will place the resolution and associated contract on the full council agenda so members can consider final authorization and any budget amendments.
