Apr 25, 2017 By Cara Host 2 min read

Bethel Park may install artificial turf on its soccer field at Village Green Park.

Municipal council discussed the idea at its April 24 workshop meeting.

The project already received a $40,000 grant from U.S. Soccer Foundation, but that will only cover part of the estimated construction cost of $200,000 to $300,000. Bethel Park also hopes to receive a state grant, but it won’t know until later this year whether the state selected the municipality for the competitive grant.

Municipal Manager Judith Miller urged council not to wait for the state.

“It’s a terrible field,” she said. “I think it’s important we move forward on this.”

Ideally, the municipality can proceed with the engineering and planning and by the time that work is finished, perhaps the state awards the grant and Bethel Park can start construction immediately, possibly as early as this summer. However, even if the state money falls through, Miller asked council to continue with the project, using local money if necessary.

Council members said the field becomes a muddy mess after rains.

Council has been making several improvements to the parks in recent years. Last summer, Bethel Park installed new playground equipment and a new pavilion at Village Green Park. It also built courts for pickleball and other games at Simmons and Millennium parks.

A state grant funded through taxes on the gambling industry paid for most of those improvements.

Council also discussed changing policy on issuing permits for small projects, such as storage sheds. These projects sometimes require stormwater management plans that have been drafted by a professional engineer. This can be an onerous and expensive requirement for residents, so municipal planners asked council for permission to change the policy.