by TaLeiza Calloway
news@thenewsleaders.com
The St. Joseph City Council voted to support efforts to purchase an electronic scoreboard for Memorial Park (Schneider Field) but with conditions, and less money than requested.
City council members denied a request for use of sales-tax funding but agreed to allocate $7,500 in park dedication fees for the project once all other contributions to the project are received, city administrator Judy Weyrens said.
The estimated project cost is about $20,000 when weighing factors that include the type of sign and labor, Weyrens said.
Last month Pat Schneider, on behalf of the St. Joseph Saints Baseball Team, requested about $15,000 to purchase and install an electronic scoreboard at Schneider Field. After that request was made to the St. Joseph Park Board, board members submitted a recommendation that $7,500 come from sales tax and $7,500 come from park-dedication fees, according to city documents. Plans also include a contribution of about $4,000 from Sentry Bank, and $1,000 and any overage being paid by the St. Joseph Baseball Association.
Discussion about fundraising for the scoreboard also took place last year. At that time, the city council asked Schneider to approach service clubs and organizations for possible funding. Per their request, Schneider has collected about $4,000, according to information submitted to the city council.
A timeline for the scoreboard’s arrival has not been determined.
“We’re at the beginning of the process,” Weyrens said.