Carter Lake Council approves ballfield improvements, including sprinkler repairs

The Carter Lake City Council voted to approve renovations to City ballfield No. 1 and repairs to the field’s sprinkler system after a presentation from Tyler of the community center. Tyler told the council the plan would reduce the grass infield by about 10 feet to permit 70‑ and 60‑foot base configurations to make the field usable for younger age groups and to increase scheduling flexibility across city diamonds.

The council learned from Tyler that the work package includes replacement and adjustment of multiple worn or misaligned sprinkler heads; staff said some heads were not watering portions of the fields. During discussion, council members said Field 2 is frequently at capacity on busy weekends and that improvements to Field 1 would allow more simultaneous games and make the complex more attractive to outside renters.

Bids and cost figures were discussed at the meeting. Staff cited multiple bid line items during the presentation (transcript references included figures such as $13,475, $7,365 and a total near $14,590); council members and staff acknowledged some of the numbers represented alternate options or separate vendor quotes and asked staff to reconcile the bids in writing.

A motion to approve the project and associated work on the irrigation system was made, seconded and carried on a roll-call vote recorded in the meeting. Councilmembers recorded as voting yes during the roll call were Jason, Jackie, Aaron and Jacob. The council directed staff to return finalized bids and contract details for filing and to complete the work before the ground freezes if possible so the field will be ready for next spring.

Next steps: staff will provide a reconciled cost breakdown of the vendor options and the exact contract terms for finalization; council asked that the record reflect that replacement of the yellow poly cap fencing and other peripheral improvements were included in the bids presented at the meeting.