By GLEN WERLING
A new day is dawning for youth baseball in Ossian.
Members of the Ossian-Jefferson Township Park Board Monday night learned from member Jared Kurtz that he, Town Manager Luann Martin, and Parks Superintendent Ron Privett met engineer Mark Reinhard of Engineering Resources regarding reconfiguring the Ossian ball diamonds.
The park board has been considering making the next big project of the board a complete makeover of the Big Diamond, the Minor League Diamond and the two T-ball diamonds. To that end, last month the park board and Ossian Town Council agreed to fund an engineering study by ER.
Martin added that the town has also received a $1,000 donation to put toward the study.
“We talked about what our vision was, about possible layouts and about different options,” Kurtz said.
He added that Privett provided good input on the status of the current fields and their maintenance requirements.
While some of the meeting was devoted to short-term needs, the major focus of the meeting was about long-term needs for baseball and softball in Ossian.
“I think that they’re going to put together a few more updated renderings and possible layouts,” Kurtz added. “They’ll do their homework and present it to us and we’ll be able to get an idea of what funds will be needed.”
The park board is considering two options offered by Reinhard — flipping the Big Diamond so that the outfield is where the current infield is located — and revamping the other diamonds, or building a completely new diamond complex in the large, undeveloped field area of Archbold-Wilson Memorial Park.
Both options have their challenges, Martin observed.
There are no utilities to the open field currently. “No electricity, no sewage and no water,” Martin emphasized.
But the current location of the diamonds may not be the best location, Kurtz said. “I think starting fresh will not be cheaper, but it may be easier,” he said, as the big field offers room to grow.
One obstacle could be the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. A major grant from DNR assisted in the funding of the development of the park. The town used that open field as a match for the grant that the DNR gave, meaning that the DNR has rules regarding about how that field can be used.
If new ball diamonds are built in the field area, the location of the current diamonds would just become part of Archold-Wilson Memorial Park, Martin said.
Board member Tim Rohr noted that there is no access to the open field area now. Martin responded that a new road would have to be built — but then to open up access to that part of the park for development of park features, a road will have to be built at some point anyway. The road would likely extend from the current stone parking lot off 900N, Martin said.
Another challenge will be making everything compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Kurtz observed. He added, if the Big Diamond is flipped, its features will also have to be made ADA compliant.
Board member Gary Guenin asked about Ossian Revitalization’s offer to pay for an engineering study for a new drive off the end of LaFever Street into Archbold-Wilson. Martin responded any discussion of a drive off LaFever will be put on hold until the park board knows what it wants to do with the ball diamonds.
The discussion of a drive off LaFever Street was what prompted the board to consider the disposition of the ball diamonds.
In baseball-related matters, Kurtz and board member Ben Jones, who also make up part of the baseball subcommittee of the park board, reported on the progress of the new Northern Wells Junior Baseball League.
In-person registration will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, and Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Ossian United Methodist Church. Anyone wishing to register a child for participation in the leagues but who can’t make the two in-person sign-ups can obtain a form off the league’s Facebook page, Jones said. The forms may be mailed to 404 Christ St., Ossian, IN 46777. The mail-in deadline is March 12.
The cost for T-ball and coaches pitch — which will be played at Ossian — will be $60 per child. Kid-pitch 10U and 12U, which will be played at Uniondale, will be $75 per child. Koufax League, which will predominantly be played at Ossian but some games may be played at Zanesville, will be $90 per child.
Evaluations will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, at the Norwell auxiliary gymnasium.
In other business, the board members:
• Appointed Jay Esparza president. Esparza, a newly appointed member by the Ossian Town Council last month, replaces Meagan Luce, who resigned after last month’s meeting to devote more time to family.
• Learned that Esparza will be taking over the scheduling for the Archbold-Wilson Event Center concert series. The Bulldogs have already been scheduled as July’s show. The town is open to suggestions for bands for the series, which runs May through October. Anyone having a recommendation for a band can contact Martin at the Ossian Town Hall at 622-4251.
• Learned from Martin that the sign for the playground at Archbold-Wilson Memorial Park has been stolen. The theft occurred sometime after Christmas and was discovered by Privett when he plowed the snow off the Lenny Gerber Memorial Walking Trail. The sign, which was steel and bolted down with lock nuts, would have taken quite an effort to steal, Martin observed. She added she could not understand why someone would want to steal it in the first place. It will cost $700 to replace it, she added.
• Learned from Martin that a snowplow has been ordered for the town’s new Gator.
• Learned from Martin that The Bridges Independence Day celebration is scheduled for Saturday, July 1 at Archbold Wilson Memorial Park.
• Learned from Martin that the new swingset for Melching Park has been delivered.
• Learned from Martin that she is pleased with how well rentals of the Archbold-Wilson event center have been going.
Stephanie Tucker, the town council’s liaison for the park board, was also present for Monday night’s meeting.
The next regular meeting of the board is set for 7 p.m. Monday, March 6, at the Collier Comfort building, 215 N. Jefferson St.
glenw@news-banner.com
