Lending a helping hand

By Staff
County, city working together on soccer project
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Heavy equipment loaned by county commissioners is playing a big role in first phase construction of a new Hartselle soccer complex.
A large track hoe was brought in from the District 4 shop in Cotaco recently. It's being used to remove tree stumps from a low-lying area on the 15-acre construction site. Three weeks earlier, the District 2 shop in Hartselle loaned a DC-5 bulldozer, which is being used to uproot stumps on higher elevations and push up trash and debris for burning.
"We ran into trouble trying to get stumps out of the ground in a low area and we got a dozer stuck twice in the process," said Byron Turney, public works superintendent. "We're fortunate that the county had one big enough to do the job. Otherwise, we would've had to stop work or rent one that would've cost several thousand dollars."
"My district has the largest track hoe in the county," District 4 Commissioner Stacy George said. "When I learned that Hartselle was looking for one I was more than happy to let them use it. That's the way it should be. It saves the taxpayers money and its helps everybody."
District 2 Commissioner Richard Lyons said he was glad to help by loaning the city a bulldozer when the ground preparation phase of the soccer fields project got under way a month ago.
"Just getting rid of the wood waste was a big job and I'm glad we were in a position where we could help," he pointed out. "The new soccer fields are badly needed and will benefit all the people of my district as well as the whole county. When they get ready to do the finishing groundwork we'll be there with graders and pans to help."
"Things have started to take shape," Frank Miller, parks and recreation director, said. "We'll soon be ready to go in and put the property to grade. We'll rely heavily on the county to help us since they have the equipment we'll need.
"We want to get the grass down and up and growing before cold weather. Next spring we'll go in and install a sprinkler system and hopefully have the fields ready for play by next fall."
First phase construction plans call for six regulation fields, fencing, parking area and concession building. Lighting of the fields and paving of the parking area will come later.
The project is being funded by a $150,000 Land &Water Conservation Grant, a cash local match of $100,000 and a local in-kind match of $50,000.