City looks for funding solutions for aging park facilities

Yahoo

04-04-2025

EAU CLAIRE — The City of Eau Claire is looking for funding solutions to upgrade and maintain aging facilities such as Carson Park Stadium and Ballfields, Half Moon Lake Bathhouse, Owen Park Band Shell building and seating, and some park pavilions.
'Municipalities have quite a bit of aging infrastructure,' said Eau Claire Finance Director Kitzie Winters. 'It's not just a problem for Eau Claire. It's actually a nationwide issue. I'd even go so far as saying a nationwide crisis. We're not provided money for the full amount of items that we need to maintain. I have to stretch those dollars very far.'
One such project in need of upgrading is Carson Park's baseball stadium.
Community Services Director Lane Berg offered reassurances that the facility is still safe to use but in need of more funding for upgrades and maintenance.
'If there are any safety issues, we address them right away,' he said. 'We did have a couple of things at Carson baseball that we found fairly recently that were deemed to be slightly unsafe, so we repaired them right away—some steel columns that had some severe corrosion. We welded steel plates and reinforced those columns.'
The bigger projects, though, they want to take on include replacing the dugout, creating a team room behind the dugouts, and adding some stadium seating.
'[The ball field] has got some real historical significance and the field is beautiful,' he said. 'It's always maintained in excellent condition. We just need to do some of these things that make it more appealing for people to come out. Upgrades end up resulting in more people. They enjoy the baseball, and then, if the facility is upgraded, it adds to the experience. We hope to be able to attract more people to come in and use the park.'
He said that in supporting the facility, it helps support the city as well, as 'we have an agreement with the Eau Claire Express [baseball team]. They do pay for using the field.'
Last year, the city applied for a grant to assist with repairs and upgrades to facilities in Carson Park.
'We weren't awarded that grant, but we do have $1.8 million this year earmarked in our Capital Improvement Plan to dedicate to Carson Park,' Winters said. 'We've had some generous donations from Eau Claire Community Foundation, so we're definitely looking at the needs of the facility. Staff will bring a request to council so they can amend the budget to focus on those projects, but there's a few more meetings that need to be had before we can finalize what the next steps are for Carson Park.'
Winters said that the city is not looking toward demolishing any of the aging structures in the park.