Monterey Building And Grounds Committee Sends Black Bottom Field Project To Full Board

Monterey’s Black Bottom Field project estimates have come in higher than the town has funding.

Building and Grounds Committee Chair Alex Garcia said to complete every component of the project is an estimated $440,000. He said the Board of Aldermen will consider putting the work out to bid at its next meeting to get a better idea of the cost breakdown.

“I feel like the project has to be done, I feel like everyone is going to benefit from that,” Garcia said. “We’re going to make improvements to the softball field at the same time, everyone will benefit from that. So I think the project has to be done, but we’ll just have to be creative with the funding.”

Garcia said the project does not have to be completed all at once, and can be done in phases to save costs. For example, the completion of a paved parking lot could be done at a later date if needed.

Garcia said the town received some $200,000 from the state and committed about $30,000 of local funds towards the project. He said they will have to decide the next steps after bids come in and after they look for additional funding. Previous discussions about such a project indicated the land will be a big enough area for various sports to be able to separate out and practice.

“It’s not something that’s going to happen this year, it might not even happen next year I don’t know,” Garcia said. “Everything is kind of up in the air right now. Even if we get the bids and we get the funding, we may not be able to start the project. So we’re just going to have to play it by ear.”