The City of Monterey and Putnam County are making a joint effort to add irrigation to fields at the Nathan Walker Sports Complex.
Monterey Mayor Alex Garcia said there is currently no irrigation system for those fields. Garcia said this will be paid for with leftover money from the complex’s LED lighting project. Garcia said good fields tend to have irrigation systems in place.
“We’ve gotten rain this summer, but if you don’t keep water on the grass, you’re not going to keep grass,” Garcia said. “So we figured this is something that we need to have.”
Garcia said the irrigation will cost some $20,000, and Putnam County Parks and Recreation will handle labor for the project. Garcia said this investment will help keep the fields in good shape for a long time.
Garcia said the price tag is comfortable because the lights chosen for the complex were under budget. He said the money appropriated was for improvements to the entire park, not just the lights.
Garcia said addressing the irrigation is very important since the complex is used year-round. Garcia said the a two-inch tap and back flow system have already been installed by the city.
“If we can go ahead and get it in before October, we can go ahead and re-seed the grass,” Garcia said. “And we should have a very nice field come springtime when the boys soccer team has to play.”
Garcia said there will be a small dredging on the field to put the lines in. He said they will come from the back end of the field for the main line, and sprinkler lines will branch off.
“When they start the project and start tearing into it, the field will be off limits until they are done,” Garcia said.
The field is still usable for the time being. Garcia said the complex light project is not yet complete, but he hopes it will be done in September.
