Drainage and irrigation improvements at Karst athletic fields face potential challenges due to rainfall.
The Monroe County Council unanimously approved Tuesday the parks department’s request to spend $80,000 to install upgraded drainage and a sedimentation basin (a pond which traps runoff) on the west edge of fields 11 and 12. Recent heavy rainfall caused water to flow from a nearby farm field onto the Karst property while improvements were being made.
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“Unfortunately, but fortunately, all the engineers decided that we needed to upgrade how we move water, how we move sediment and putting in a sediment basin pond,” said Kelli Whitmer, parks department director.
The Monroe County Airport maintains the farm field and has agreed to cooperate with Karst in maintaining irrigation on each side. The county stormwater department is also cooperating with irrigation efforts.
Whitmer said drainage and irrigation improvements will cost around $114,000 when finished.
Most improvements will be finished by the fall of this year, depending on upcoming rainfall totals.
“There's been a lot of rain in the last seven days, so every time it rains, it pushes us back one or two days while everything's drying out,” Whitmer said. “I mean, best case scenario, October 1st, maybe November 1 st (for completion).”
Karst Athletic Complex fields 6 and 7 improvements are scheduled to be complete by next year. The fields are expected to have new LED lights, drainage and irrigation systems.
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