Council will split construction costs with school

The Opp City Council voted to fund half of the cost of the exterior construction of a new field house for Channell-Lee Stadium, provided all of the money needed can be raised.

“We are trying to improve the stadium as much as possible,” Mayor Becky Bracke said. “The stadium is where the most people go in Opp for so many things other than football. We have the Rattlesnake Rodeo and Little Big Horn, so it is safe to say that more people use this than any other place in Opp. I think we need to get it to where it is the best.”

Improvements have been under way at the stadium for months. City Planner Jason Bryan explained in July that Channell-Lee Stadium was built as a multipurpose field, for both baseball and football. However, when a track was added, it changed the layout and meant the stadium could no longer function for baseball.

Earlier this year, the dugout was removed and drainage pipes underneath the stadium were replaced.

Bracke said that the current locker rooms in the stadium were torn down, but there is firm estimate for replacing them.

“Right now, they are seeing how much it is going to cost completely,” Bracke said. “They feel like the shell of the building will cost around $50,000, so we are going to do half it and then from there they will see how much it will cost to build the inside.”

The school system and the city will each contribute $25,000 for the construction. Bracke said that the school would look at donations for the remaining cost.

“All we are doing tonight is saying that we are willing to help build it,” Bracke said. “And then we will see if they think they can get enough donations to complete it. The way I see it, if they don’t get enough to complete it, then we can’t do it. We don’t want to put a shell up and not complete it.”

The city council also approved several resolutions, including:

• declaring 602 West Ida Street a public nuisance.

• exempting OCAP from taxes.

• setting the cost of cleaning 402 Dorsey Street.

• setting the cost of cleaning 313 Dorsey Street.

• setting the cost of cleaning 502 Maude Street.

• setting the cost of cleaning 200 Graves Street.

• declaring 702 Florala Hwy., a public nuisance.

• declaring 2507 Hwy. 84 W., a public nuisance.