By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
County commissioners court members Feb. 14 voted to apply for half a million dollars in grant funding for further improvements to a set of sports fields.
The court discussed the use of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds at its Feb. 14 meeting.
“I would like to see us use this money to complete, get the irrigation and the grass, back on the Alcoa fields, the soccer fields,” County Commissioner Pct. Beau Nettleton after County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. finished announcing the agenda item.
“The kids don’t have a place to play, and they need a place. We need to get the irrigation and grass back on the fields,” Nettleton added.
Carl Esser, the county’s grants administrator, added, “Just a comment to the court. I have received comments from the community, from interests that align exactly with that. They’ve seen what the county has implemented out there at the Alcoa fields. The community is very impressed with those improvements, and so they would like to see additional implementation out there at the soccer fields, maybe restrooms, other improvements out there, maybe some lighting on the soccer fields. Maybe not the same kind of lighting as at the Alcoa field, but similar improvements out there for the kids,” Esser added.
Nettleton said, “I’ll make a motion to apply for this funding and use it to improve the Alcoa soccer fields.”
County Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores said he would second the motion for discussion.
Flores then asked Nettleton, “Can you specify (the improvements)? Irrigation? Lighting?”
“Put in irrigation, grass, lighting and restrooms, or upgrade existing restrooms,” Nettleton said.
Owens asked Flores if he wanted to keep his second to Nettleton’s motion, and Flores said he did,
According to information provided to the court by Esser, in the past awards of CDBG funds to the county have been used as follows: $380,083 for improvements to the county library, $249,235 for a water tank in Escondido Estates and water lines along Vega Verde Road, $228,684 for water lines in Comstock and in San Felipe Pastures along Farm-to-Market Road 2523 and Bonita Lane and $450,000 for improvements to the Alcoa baseball fields.
The court then voted unanimously to approve Nettleton’s motion.
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