Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
The Havre Men's Slowpitch Softball Association will develop short- and long-term plans for improvements to their fields south of town. The plans will be submitted to members of the Havre City Council, who will look into obtaining a Community Transportation Enhancement Program grant to pay for the upgrade.
At a meeting of the City Council's Parks and Recreation Committee on Thursday night, association members said they know they have a long road ahead of them before they get what they envision - a complex with four fields and the amenities needed to host large tournaments.
The group wants to spend several years to fix up the fields and look into adding additional ones. The complex now has two fields.
"It didn't get that way overnight, and it's not going to get fixed overnight," club president Brett Antley said.
Antley said grass in the outfield has died and been replaced with weeds. The group has dug a new well to take the place of a faulty one, but needs the plumbing to connect that water source with the restrooms and a proposed sprinkler system.
A new fence and the plumbing improvements are on the club's wish list this year, members said. Antley estimated the upgrades would cost about $20,000.
City Council member Emily Mayer Lossing said the CTEP funding cycle is coming up soon. The city and the state would need to have specific documentation on exactly what is needed and how much that will cost.
Council member and committee chair Allen "Woody" Woodwick said he thinks improvements and additions are a good idea.
"I'd like to see us get back in shape and then work on improving the place," he said.
Club treasurer said the association used to host large tournaments in the past. The last one he could remember, he said, was in the early 1990s and brought two dozen teams to Havre.
Antley said improvements and expansion would put Havre in the running to host more such tournaments in the future. Those tournaments bring scores of players and families from across the state, he added.
"Anything that gets people here, spending greenbacks, is good for Havre," Mayer Lossing said.
