{"id":30,"date":"2013-02-12T20:04:53","date_gmt":"2013-02-13T02:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/thecapstone\/?p=30"},"modified":"2013-02-12T20:39:43","modified_gmt":"2013-02-13T02:39:43","slug":"not-a-home-run-yet-for-treytons-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/thecapstone\/2013\/02\/12\/not-a-home-run-yet-for-treytons-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Treyton’s Field rounds the bases"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JAMES KATES, <\/strong>Bugle Managing Editor<\/p>\n

Treyton\u2019s Field of Dreams is still a work in progress.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that we\u2019re very close,\u201d Amundson told council members, adding that the project had been \u201ca grass-roots, community-based effort since day one.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

City Attorney Wallace McDonell said Amundson would serve as a sort of \u201cgeneral contractor\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

McDonell noted that the city would have to be especially careful with \u201cprevailing wage\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Amundson said Treyton\u2019s Field, in conjunction with UW-Whitewater athletic facilities, could solidify Whitewater\u2019s brand as a destination for \u201csports tourism.\u201d Starin Park already has three baseball diamonds, and Treyton\u2019s Field could host championship games for tournaments, he said.<\/p>\n

A four-field complex in Waupun, built at a cost of $2.2 million, has become a major draw there, Amundson said. Visitors \u201cobviously spend money in town,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s busy season in June, July and August.<\/p>\n

In other action Tuesday, the council:<\/p>\n