The Hastings City Council will be asked to approve a budget adjustment to spend dedicated funds to partially fund replacement of the Vets Baseball Field Scoreboard. The scoreboard at Vets Baseball Field was installed in the early to mid-1980s, and has served more than its useful life. Until the last couple of years, refurbished electronic replacement parts have been available to keep the scoreboard alive. Currently, there are critical functions of the scoreboard that do not work, and no replacement parts are available. In recent years, the Hastings Hawks have invested money, effort and a lot of time to enhance the facilities at the baseball field. The presence of a scoreboard at Vets Baseball Field certainly adds to the experience, and as a City owned asset that has failed, it is time to replace it, according to City staff. Both the Hastings Hawks and Hastings Youth Athletic Association have pledged funding to help with this replacement project. The total project cost is $32,261, with City dedicated funding specific to Veterans Athletic Complex: $17,300. The Hastings Hawks and the Hastings Youth Athletic Association commitments will be $7,500 each. The budget amendment request was placed on the Consent Agenda for the March 7th meeting of the Council.
