Kimery Park gets new softball field improvements

The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn FIELD PREP: Hot Springs Parks and Trails employees Martin Graf, left, Jonathan Patman, right, and John Elmore install framing on Field 1 at Kimery Park on Thursday in preparation for the addition of the new Pour In Place surface.
The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn FIELD PREP: Hot Springs Parks and Trails employees Martin Graf, left, Jonathan Patman, right, and John Elmore install framing on Field 1 at Kimery Park on Thursday in preparation for the addition of the new Pour In Place surface.

The Hot Springs Sport Recreation Department is spending about $32,000 to finish updating Kimery Park's four softball fields and make them safer and more player friendly.

The new project transforms the dirt areas between the dugouts and the playing field into a soft, high impact area that provides greater safety for players and meets requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"We're using Pour In Place, a rubber-like product used originally on municipal playgrounds that provides a high-impact surface. It has a fall rating of 6 feet, plus the added drainage it provides is a major benefit," Nathan Neighbors, the Sports Recreation Department operations manager, said Thursday.

He said Louisiana State University recently installed the material on its track, and Kimery Park is the first facility in the state to use the material on ball fields.

"This will be done on all four fields in front of the dugout areas. The top surface will be brown and have the appearance of dirt, but when you step on it, you'll notice the difference," Neighbors said. The rubberized underlayer is 1.5 inches thick and the top layer is a half inch thick, he said.

"It drains well and is wheelchair accessible. It's like the material used in Miracle Leagues for children with handicaps and has a good fall rating," he said.

In January 2014, the Hot Springs Board of Directors approved spending $286,091 to rebuild the park's four softball fields, which had deteriorated to the point that they became unusable in August 2013. Funds for that work were provided by the city, Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission, and the West Central Arkansas Planning and Development District through the General Improvement Fund Grant Program with money appropriated by the state legislature.

Neighbors said funding for the new work will come from GIF money and the city board.

He said it would have cost about $120,000 to place turf in the dugout areas, compared to the $32,000 it will cost to do the four fields with Pour In Place.

The field improvements have provided almost immediate benefits, with many tournaments playing on the fields in 2014 and with heavy rainfall over much of the state in the last few weeks, Kimery Park has been the only place in the state that teams could play, he said.

"We've maxed out on the number of teams we can take on tournaments. We have local leagues already going and they have been pleased with the new work. Everyone is on board with it," he said.

Neighbors said that once the artificial turf was laid on the fields, the department looked at the next area of need, and chose to use the Pour In Place material in the dugout areas because it is low maintenance, provides improved safety, and is aesthetically pleasing.

Local on 03/27/2015

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