MINOT – Town administrator Rhonda Irish told selectmen this week that the recreation committee is going after two grants to help continue work in the newly established Minot Recreational Park.

Irish cited Stacey Boulay, Belinda Dubois and Melissa Levesque for their work on a $4,000 grant application to purchase equipment for the recently completed soccer field. The money would pay for benches for the players and portable bleachers for their fans.

The soccer field, the first of three playing fields planned for the complex, was built mainly with volunteer labor and donated equipment and materials. In fact, Irish noted, the only town money invested in the complex is the $20,000 voters raised for the recreation committee.

Using that limited amount of money, volunteers have constructed a 1,500-foot access road, cleared and leveled a parking lot and built the soccer field.

The trio from the recreation committee is also working with Irish on a second grant, which Irish characterized as “complicated,” through the Major League Baseball Association. Irish said grants through this program average about $50,000 and, should the town receive one, it would cover the development of a regulation baseball field.

In his report, road manager Arlan Saunders said his crew will probably begin work on the town’s hiking trail system next week.

The trail system is part of the recreation committee’s plan for the overall development of town land and will link the new play fields with the Minot Consolidated School, the town office complex and the old fields at Minot Memorial Park.

Selectmen also reviewed the schedule for the budget process for the 2007 town meeting and approved the printing of 800 copies of the annual town report.

Copy the Story Link