School board sets public hearing for new baseball field project

Newton residents will get to weigh in on the construction of the new baseball field later this month. The Newton Community School District Board of Education set a public hearing for the project to take place on Nov. 28, and by that time contractors will have submitted bids to construct the new diamond along John Jenkins CFLA Drive.

Rachelle Hines, of FRK Architects & Engineers, told school board members that bid letting would begin on Oct. 25. The architectural firm also would reach out to contractors to let them know the baseball field project will be available for them to bid on and check out. The bids will be taken on Nov. 22.

“Beyond that, so you guys have a full schedule, they’ll start construction as soon as they can and then pending weather … we’re hoping for a June finish/July finish,” Hines said. “But we’ll have to kind of see how that ends up working out with the cold weather. Hope for the best.”

For the past few months, the school district has had a baseball committee review the project and research other fields. The field would be located south of the parking lot across the street from the softball field near H.A. Lynn Stadium. School board members authorized the project to move forward in June.

At that time, the new field was estimated to cost more than $3.1 million.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext 560 or at cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com