Photo by Stephen BurnettBy fall 2015 Leander and Cedar Park baseball players might be swinging their bats at new fields in Benbrook Ranch Park in north Leander.
On Sept. 18, Leander City Council approved construction bids for one large baseball field and two smaller ones. Steve Bosak, director of the Leander Parks and Recreation Department, said the fields will provide playing space for youth leagues and high school baseball teams.
"That's our highest priority we need right now because of the limited space that's available with the Cedar Park Youth League," Bosak said.
League players have been struggling with limited playing space, he said.
City Council approved bids totaling about $1.9 million from Leander-based Foreman Equipment. Foreman will build three fields, a restroom building, a parking lot, a pavilion for picnics and events, and shade structures for spectators. The company will also add trees and shrubs to the park.
Council members also approved Pedernales Electric Cooperative's bid of $40,000 to add underground electric lines, and Musco Lighting's bid of $303,505 to install light fixtures.
Place 5 Councilman Jason Dishongh said he was disappointed that although City Council rejected Foreman's initial bid of $1.8 million and sought more bids, the company's $1.9 million bid was even higher. Dishongh also said residents desperately need the baseball fields.
Other parks projects
The new fields are only part of increased efforts to grow city parks to meet residents' needs.
The city plans to spend about $1.8 million to buy 44 acres along the San Gabriel River for another city park. Bosak said the Parks and Recreation department wants to build an athletic complex and trails that make use of the area's natural resources such as the river and nearby creeks.
"This is a land banking for the future, the not-too-far-off future," Bosak said. "Good land like that, buildable land, is disappearing fast right now."
Staffers have set Nov. 8 as the date for a ground breaking ceremony at Leander Veterans Park. The project will cost about $900,000, and in fiscal year 2014–15 the city will spend $205,000 on the park. Other funds may come from private donations for the site on Sonny Drive near the Leander Public Library. Bosak said the city will start by building a concrete path around the park's pond, to be called the Walk of Honor.
"The plan is to build it all out, but we've got to have the funding to do that," Bosak said. "I'm sure it will take two years, if not three or four."
The department is also finishing plans for the 125-acre Lakewood Community Park southwest of the Ronald Reagan Boulevard/Crystal Falls Parkway intersection. In August the department applied for a $400,000 matching grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife and will not know the results until January. But the Lakewood project will cost a total of $5.5 million, Bosak said.
"This will be one of our two best parks," he said.
This story was updated for clarity Oct. 7, 2014 at 3:13 p.m. CST.
