- April 26, 2024
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Two soccer fields have been converted to four baseball fields at Indian Trails Sports Complex. Image from the city's YouTube video
Meet the Public Works crew. Back row: Danny Bastos and Jamie Raposo; front: John Bento, Ricardo Defreitas, crew leader James Parker and Fileberto Padilla
Two soccer fields have been converted to four baseball fields at Indian Trails Sports Complex. Image from the city's YouTube video
Two soccer fields have been converted to four baseball fields at Indian Trails Sports Complex. Image from the city's YouTube video
On Nov. 5 at the American Public Works Association Florida Chapter meeting, the city of Palm Coast’s Public Works Department was awarded the APWA 2020 Public Works Project of the Year Award (for projects under $5 million) in recognition of the Indian Trails Sports Complex Baseball Fields project that was completed in October 2020.
This project was prompted by the needs of Palm Coast Little League, which outgrew the fields available during the season. In order to accommodate the need, the Palm Coast City Council authorized an existing project for two new soccer fields at the Indian Trails Sports Complex to be converted into additional baseball fields.
“The Public Works Department regrouped to accomplish the task and completed the project above expectations and below budget,” Interim City Manager Denise Bevan said. “We’re so proud of their hard work and effort on this project, and it is so nice to see them being recognized with such a prestigious honor.”
An undertaking of this magnitude was only possible due to the Special Projects team's background and experience. Their responsibilities have included several different construction projects throughout Palm Coast, so they are accustomed to dealing with many variables on the journey to successfully completing various projects without disruption to their timeline. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they used rotating work schedules to ensure that they could continue the project while keeping the employees safe.
Construction of the fields was completed without the need to close other areas of the sports complex, which meant that the four baseball and four soccer fields were still available to the public during the construction phase. The entire project was carried out with zero workplace safety incidents.
“One way that the Public Works Department developed innovative budgeting solutions for this project was to eliminate unnecessary soil disposal and the need to source quality dirt for the infields,” Public Works Director Matthew Mancill said. “The crew was able to take the dirt from digging out the fields, screened it, and then reused it to grade the new baseball fields. This process alone saved the taxpayers well over $20,000.”
