By Jasmin Embers - bio | email
Posted by Adam Thiele - email
BEAVER DAM, KY (WFIE) - The Beaver Dam community is stepping up to the plate by getting four new baseball fields up and running by spring.
They'll be just one of several attractions at the new $1 million Beaver Dam Family Park. Work began last summer.
"The site work's done. We still have a little cleaning and touch up to do in the spring but parking lots are in," Beaver Dam Mayor Paul Sandefur says.
The project's moving along and city leaders say they've barely had to pay for anything.
"It's a large undertaking for a small town, rural community like we are here but we've got a lot of people who are stepping up to the plate."
That's because the park's plan calls for four new baseball fields, a walking trail, and basketball courts.
A big vision with little cash on hand, so Mayor Sandefur started a sponsorship program to help pay for fencing at the fields each costing $15,000.
"They're coming in with six payments over the next five years to help us cover the net payment so we can go ahead ad get these facilities built," Mayor Sandefur told 14 News.
City leaders hope adding the sponsorship program will help things move along faster at the park. You can already see a lot of work being done since the summer. "These people are starting to get excited in the community about what we've got and what we plan to have," Mayor Sandefur says.
Sandefur says the city will apply for more grants for lighting and gates. So far $170,000 in grants have been awarded for the project.
"A lot of it is gonna depend on what kind of see-grass we have coming up this year.If we have a good turf, it's possible we could be playing baseball on two of the fields this spring."
The sponsors also get rights to naming the field when it's completed.
Two fields are already getting sponsored. The new farmer's market, also funded by a grant, is on the park property and will be up and running in the spring.
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