Riverside is partnering with the village’s Little League chapter to update baseball fields at Indian Gardens and Big Ball Park.
The work will see minor improvements and regrading to the softball field at Big Ball Park and more extensive repairs, including a full infield sod regrading and maintenance to the mounds and home plates, to the two baseball fields at Indian Gardens.
Riverside trustees on Oct. 16 approved an agreement with Midwest Field Solutions for the work. The project will cost $78,250 in total, with Little League covering $67,250 and the village on the hook for the remaining $11,000.
Another firm, Sportsfields, quoted Riverside about $50,000 in total for the project, but Little League recommended Midwest Field Solutions due to a belief it would “provide a higher quality result,” according to agenda documents from the village board meeting.
Trustees also approved a memorandum of understanding with Little League to formalize the cost-share and codify both groups’ desire to support active recreation in town.
The agreement is the latest shared effort between the village and Riverside Little League due to a “longstanding” field maintenance agreement between them that was created in 2014, said Ron Malchiodi, Riverside’s director of parks and recreation, at the village board meeting. He said Riverside’s parks and recreation board unanimously approved the project before it came to the village board.
“Keeping the fields safe and in good shape is the primary goal of the department, and they were also highlighted in our master plan,” Malchiodi told trustees. “These projects will not only enhance our current efforts; they will address some potential safety issues and update the field to current trends and appearances.”
