The resurfacing of the baseball and softball fields at Bayou Vista Community Center has started. Participating in the final preparations before planting, Daniel Veuleman of Sports Turf Specialist, checks field number three’s elevation with a laser level attached to a tractor. All ball fields will be receiving “Celebration Bermuda” grass from Turf Grass Farms in Welsh. The grass being planted at the ball fields is the same type of Bermuda grass that is on LSU’s playing field in Baton Rouge.
jkaess@daily-review.com
BAYOU VISTA, La. — St. Mary Recreation District 3 in Bayou Vista has been hard at work making improvements on a ball field as well as gearing up for the opening of the area’s first skate park.
Sports Turf Specialists of Welsh is in the process of renovating field 3 at the Bayou Vista Community Center, better known as the home field for Central Catholic Lady Eagles Softball and St. Mary Central Dixie Youth.
Renovation of the field is a days-long process that includes killing the existing Bermuda grass and removing the top inch of turf using a Koro Machine. The next step is to utilize laser grading to ensure positive drainage.
“Celebration Bermuda” turf grass is then “sprigged” or planted on the field. The grass was chosen because its density would keep the problematic “torpedo grass” previously growing unrestrained on the field under control, District 3 Board President Stan Robison said.
Robison said the company hired, Sports Turf Specialists, is noted for its work on the fields of Alex Box and Tiger Stadium at Louisiana State University as well as at LSU in Eunice and fields at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Sprigging is slated to begin today. The total cost of renovation for the field is $14,800, paid for from the district’s general fund, Robison said.
Meanwhile, construction at Central Park in Bayou Vista continues with cement scheduled to be poured Thursday or Friday for the new 8,000-foot skate park.
The park is scheduled to open between the first and second week of November.
In conjunction with the skate park is construction of a pavilion to serve the needs of family gatherings or family-oriented events and new restroom facilities. Also, new playground equipment is due to be installed this week by Kincade Recreation of Texas.
Video surveillance also will be added to the area for additional security.
Aegis Construction of LaPlace is the contractor for the pavilion and restrooms. Northwest Concrete Skate Parks is the installer for the skate park. The total cost of Central Park project is about $1 million.
Eighty percent of the project is being funded with roughly two mills of property tax collected by the district, Robison said. The other 20 percent comes from a combination of the district’s general fund, a $50,000 Louisiana Government Assistance Program grant and a $30,000 federal grant.
Upcoming projects for the district include additional drainage at the spray park and south of the baseball fields.
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