After a year of back-and-forth discussions, Elizabethton City Council effectively hit a line drive to get on base.
Council members convened in a capital funding workshop Tuesday morning and agreed to recommend distributing $2.6 million worth of bonds for different projects, including $1.5 million for renovations at Joe O’Brien Field, $1 million to the Elizabethton Police Department and the remaining funds for the Elizabethton Golf Course. The recommendation, made by Mayor Curt Alexander, was unanimously supported by Council members with Richard Tester absent from the meeting.
Bonds from the city are issued for the purpose of “making certain capital expenditures in connection with public works projects,” according to a document provided by the city. The document outlines that the funding can be used for a specific demographic of projects, including police and public safety, public parks, playgrounds and other recreational facilities.
The topic of Joe O’Brien Field and the Elizabethton Twins – Minnesota Twins Minor League Baseball (MiLB) affiliate – dominated the workshop discussion with Alexander saying he’s been in constant contact with Minnesota president Dave St. Peter over the past few weeks with a continued trend of hoping to work together with Elizabethton.
But with time being of the essence to send an offer to Minnesota, Appalachian League president Lee Landers was on hand for the workshop and provided an update on Elizabethton’s standing with the league.
While noting the positive reviews of the administration and hard work from Parks and Recreation – which handle the operation of the team – Landers added that there was a fear that without renovations at the stadium that no team would be able to come due to standards put in place by the Professional Baseball Agreement between MiLB and Major League Baseball.
A letter addressed to Alexander from Pat O’Connor, president & chief executive officer of MiLB, indicated that the facilities at Joe O’Brien Field fail to “meet some of the minimum guidelines outlined within the Minor League Facility Standard” and fall “well below” current facilities being used by comparable clubs in the Appalachian League.
While Landers’ noted the history and prestige Elizabethton offers to the Appalachian League, Richard Barker, Elizabethton Twins Task Force member, followed up the president’s sentiments by pledging to donate $28,000 to cover the cost of an architect to begin developing the concept of improved facilities – which was met with a round of applause from attendees – in honor of his family’s work with the program.
The goal of the $1.5 million is to cover the cost of a home and visitor clubhouses, which in turn would put Joe O’Brien Field within compliance TBA regulations whether the Twins stay or not. The $1.5 million request, first brought up by Councilman Wes Frazier could cover the cost of renovating the facilities, according to Dave McQueen, the maintenance supervisor at Joe O’Brien.
Part of the goal is to utilize $1.5 million from bonds and begin looking into bringing in a sports management company to help with day-to-day operations at the park.
Alexander added that Parks and Recreation do a great job with the facility, but bringing in a management company could alleviate pressure to the department. Along with games, a management agency could also provide other events at the field during the year, while still allowing Elizabethton High School to play baseball games there.
Another part of the recommendation is to possibly have Minnesota contribute $500,000, less than the original one-third proposal made during the Elizabethton Twins Task Force, to assist with other needed improvements.
The remaining bond money was provided to EPD, which Chief Jason Shaw said they would make the money work for needed renovations and improvements for the department. The other portion for the golf course would go toward needed improvements as well. The idea of expanding the fire hall for the fire department was put off for the time being due to the current state of the building.
City Council is expected to meet in another workshop in the coming weeks.