The Village of Beecher agreed to kick in $10,000 for repairs to a baseball field at Firemen’s Park.
The village board voted on March 23 to go through a supplemental appropriation process for the money, which will be used to spruce up and fix items on Field 1.
The total cost will be $19,500 and the Fourth of July Commission will pay for $9,500.
“They want to replace all of the fencing by the backstop and by the dugouts,” Trustee Brian Diachenko said. “They would like to strip the paint and repaint the poles.
“It’s a cosmetic thing but it’s also a safety thing. The chain-link fence by the backstop is gnarled and curled up on the bottom. It just looks really bad.”
There is likely not enough money in the Park Fund, but officials believe the money can come out of reserves.
The work will be done by Hammond Indiana-based A Plus Fence and officials hope the project can be completed by April 24.
New mystery car
The Fourth of July raffle car hit a snag and the board voted to purchase a different one for $28,925.
Mayor Marcy Meyer said the original car had a little more wear and tear on it, and she didn’t think it would be appropriate to raffle it off.
“When we went back to the dealer, it had been lent out and now has over 1,500 miles on it,” she said. “We would probably put 200 or 300 miles on it taking it to car shows so we were potentially looking at raffling off a car that would have close to 2,000 miles on it.”
The board is keeping the make and model of the car a secret, per request of the Fourth of July Commission.
“The Fourth of July Commission likes to put teaser ads on Facebook and let the people know what it is little by little so we don’t want to let the cat out of the bag too soon,” Meyer said.
Miller Street project
A $994,957 bid for a water main replacement project on Miller Street to Monee-based M&J Underground was approved. The village is counting on having $500,000 of it paid for through a grant.
Village Works Director Matthew Conner said the construction will take place in the summer after school is out of session and will affect Miller Street from Dixie Highway to Reed Street.
Beecher bits
- Jessica Woodruff was appointed to the Fourth of July Commission.
- The board approved Police Chief John Galvin to attempt to pin down a grant for $52,500 to pay for Flock Camera fees, overtime cost for retail corridor details and enforcement.
- The board agreed to spend $5,578 to Forsyth-based Mug-A-Bug Pest Control for mosquito adulticide and $7,145 to the Van Diest Supply Company for mosquito larvicide bricks for catch basins throughout the village.