By JAMES KATES, Bugle Managing Editor

Treyton’s Field of Dreams is still a work in progress.

Whitewater Parks and Recreation Director Matt Amundson told the Common Council on Tuesday that the city hopes to begin awarding bids this spring for the baseball park. The project honors Treyton Kilar, a 6-year-old Whitewater boy who was killed by a drunken driver in 2010.

If built as envisioned by a city consultant, the facility in Starin Park would cost more than $1.5 million, including items such as parking lots, a shared-use path and a pavilion.

But the final cost is likely to be much less, because the cost figures from city consultant Strand Associates do not account for donated labor and materials. Elements of the project also may be eliminated or built in stages.

“I feel that we’re very close,” Amundson told council members, adding that the project had been “a grass-roots, community-based effort since day one.”

Amundson said he hoped to secure bids this spring to have solid numbers to show to donors. About $824,000 is available for the project at present, including city funds, money from community donors and outside grants. A $75,000 grant request for field lights is under review.

City Attorney Wallace McDonell said Amundson would serve as a sort of “general contractor” on the project, coordinating donors and volunteer workers on each part of the park while trying to keep expenditures low. Bid documents can be written to reflect these uncertainties, McDonell assured the council.

McDonell noted that the city would have to be especially careful with “prevailing wage” requirements, which specify that if any workers on a given element of the project are paid, then all labor must be paid at a rate that is typical for the area.

He raised the option that the pavilion, which would include restrooms and concession stands, could be built by a local service club and operated privately.

Amundson said Treyton’s Field, in conjunction with UW-Whitewater athletic facilities, could solidify Whitewater’s brand as a destination for “sports tourism.” Starin Park already has three baseball diamonds, and Treyton’s Field could host championship games for tournaments, he said.

A four-field complex in Waupun, built at a cost of $2.2 million, has become a major draw there, Amundson said. Visitors “obviously spend money in town,” he said.

It is uncertain what, if any, construction on the project will occur this summer. Amundson said parking lots would need to be finished by June 1, because it would be difficult to build them during the park’s busy season in June, July and August.

In other action Tuesday, the council:

• Approved an $8,400 contract with APCO International to study staffing levels at the Police Department’s dispatch center. Police Chief Lisa Otterbacher said the center often has just one operator on duty, posing hazards during times of multiple emergencies and possibly increasing response times for police and rescue squads.
•  Approved the purchase of a new Ford Taurus police squad car from Whitewater’s Ketterhagen Ford for $24,880. A competing bid from Ewald Automotive of Oconomowoc was $367 lower, but council members decided the slightly higher cost of buying locally was justified.
• Set its next meeting for Thursday, Feb. 21, because Tuesday, Feb. 19, is the day of the primary election.