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Parks director asks board to consider $478,783 transfer for Sports Complex safety upgrades
Summary
Culpeper Parks and Recreation director Andrew Hardy asked the Buildings and Grounds Committee to support replacing backstops and fencing on seven fields at the Culpeper Sports Complex for safety and longevity and requested a transfer of $478,783 from the Lynn Park CIP to the Sports Complex CIP; the committee voted to send the request to the full board without recommendation.
Andrew Hardy, director of Parks and Recreation, told the committee July 14 that aging and failing fencing and backstops at the Culpeper Sports Complex create safety and playability problems and proposed a multi-field replacement to address those issues.
Hardy said the project would raise several backstops from 18 feet to 22 feet, install continuous backstop fencing wrapping from dugout to dugout, use black vinyl-coated chain-link fence to reduce rust, and add removable sunshades over dugouts. He described converting four upper fields from grass infield to skinned infields to increase flexibility so the complex can field six playable diamonds for baseball or softball instead of separate baseball/softball configurations.
Hardy described vendors and costs in his presentation and asked the committee to consider transferring $478,783 from the Lynn Park CIP line to the Sports Complex CIP to fund the work. He noted existing Sports Complex CIP funds of about $207,000 would be supplemented by the requested transfer. For timeline planning, staff proposed starting removal and site work in November so fields would be operational for spring play.
Some committee members urged exploring lower-cost interim fixes — extending existing poles and adding netting with help from Culpeper Little League — while others emphasized that temporary fixes would necessitate repeated work and staff preferred a permanent solution. After discussion the committee voted to send the funding transfer request to the full board for discussion without recommendation.
The board will review the packet, confirm vendor quotes and procurement approach, and decide whether to approve the requested transfer and the proposed permanent upgrades.
