More Money Approved For Madison Baseball Field Project

By Jack Kramer

Correspondent

MADISON, CT – The Board of Finance recently voted to approve allocating an additional $23,000 to cover costs not budgeted in the Town Campus Baseball Field project.

The money will be transferred from the town’s contingency fund.

Any other additional costs for the yet-to-be completed field, which sits by the Town Hall/Police station site, the finance board said, will have to be funded without town monies.

In fact, several local contractors according to Town Engineer Mike Ott, have pitched in to work on the project. Those contractors have volunteered their time and are not taking pay to try and get the field completed

The Board of Selectmen had previously approved the additional appropriation, but it needed finance board okay, also.

The project has gone over budget and has taken longer than originally planned to complete.

Ott stated that the current cost sheet has a total of roughly $169,000, stating the town only has a financial commitment for roughly $121,000 of this amount.

He said he has been authorized to spend funds up to roughly $154,000. The two items that have not been approved to spend money on are the dugout construction and sidewalks. The overage, he said, is roughly $19,000.

He stated that he recommended adding a 10 percent contingency for costs that may be incurred when the topsoil is spread.

This puts the total additional needed at roughly $23,000. He added that certain items were earmarked for being completed in the fall but the numbers are known.