ABOVE: The Fairmont City Council continued to talk about projects, and how to fund them, at Veterans Park during its meeting on Monday. Sentinel file photo

FAIRMONT– Veterans Park was once again a topic of conversation at the Fairmont City Council meeting on Monday. For the past few years the council has been talking about resurfacing the tennis/pickleball courts, along with adding other improvements, and on Monday talked about pursuing some Brownfield grants to help fund the work.

Public Works Director, Matthew York, said he was advised to apply for EPA Region 5 funds and that preliminary information was sent but that the city has been asked to send in more information to see whether or not it qualifies for the funds.

“Staff is here requesting guidance on whether or not we should move forward with pursuing Brownfield grants to clean up the debris field at Veterans Park and position us to place what we want on that property, or should we move forward with completing the RFP (Request for Proposal) for a consultant to do the designed project?” York asked.

Council Member Randy Lubenow said that he doubted the city would get the Brownfield grant and that he thought the city should move forward with the construction of the tennis/pickleball court as the council has it in the budget.

For 2025, the council has $191,000 set aside for the project.

Council Member Britney Kawecki noted that the council has been working on the project for longer than five years. She said she wanted to see the council apply for Brownfield grants for Gomsrud Park and other parks where it’s not as “needed.”

“I’d like to see us take care of Veterans Park and move forward with the shelters, with the pickleball courts, with the basketball courts and as I’ve suggested in the past, we’re moving more funds into the miscellaneous reserve accounts… we can use that money for one time expenses and this is a one time expense,” Kawecki said.

York said that moving forward with the pickleball courts was one thing, but that moving forward with the shelter houses and other items had been previously discussed and it was said at that time that special steps would need to be taken due to the debris field.

As it was discussed at a council meeting in May 2024, there is extra debris under the ground at Veterans Park from when the former Fairmont Junior High School building burned down in 1969.

“If we want to clean up the park and the debris field, then that needs to get done prior to installing the pickleball court because I don’t want to install a new pickleball court and then clean up the debris field and we know the foundation of the court is going to be within the debris field,” York explained.

Council Member Jay Maynard said he thought the council needed to do the project once and do it right.

“If the EPA is asking us to ask them for money, I don’t see a lot of reason not to ask them for money… that tells me that the likelihood of actually getting the money is not zero,” Maynard said.

Lubenow said he has recently looked at pictures of the old school that burned down and noted that it was a very large brick building.

“Anybody that thinks that a Brownfield grant is going to cure all of these problems, of all of the stuff that’s buried at Veterans Park is solely mistaken. We may get a million or two million but that project is going to take a few more million, money that we don’t have,” Lubenow said.

He expressed frustration with how he said the project has been pushed off.

“We voted on this. The Brownfield grant is really a wish, thrown in the wind, we all know that. Now it’s an option to delay the project again and I just can’t sit here and support that,” Lubenow said.

Council Member James Kotewa agreed that something has to be done at the park but shared that he has concerns about asbestos at the park and said that if kids are going to play there the council needs to be extra careful about how it proceeds.

“I think we need to move forward. Stop the discussion and make a motion just to proceed with the grants,” Kotewa said.

Kawecki again said she thought the council should look at the grants for Gomsrud Park and instead focus on Veterans Park. Interim City Administrator Jeff O’Neill asked for clarification.

“You mean you want the city to clean it up entirely?” O’Neill asked.

Kawecki said the council had transferred $1.2 million which can be used for one time expenditures.

“So in the event that we don’t get grant funds, then we can use our funds?” O’Neill asked.

Kawecki again said that city should look into using Brownfield grants for Gomsrud Park and move forward with Veterans Park.

“This has been ongoing for how long. It seems that we can’t take care of our parks with the funds that we have,” Kawecki said.

She said she has heard from people in the community who say there is a lack of trust in the council because of inaction.

“That is so true. We don’t do anything. We have the money. There’s nothing in our Capital Improvement Plan that is for sure being used on those funds. We have the money. Put it into Veterans Park,” Kawecki said.

Maynard made a motion to pursue the Brownfield grant for the Veterans Park project and to delay pickleball court reconstruction until completion of the grant process and Council Member Wayne Hasek seconded it.

Lubenow said he thought it was sad the council continued to “kick the can down the road” by putting obstacles in the road instead of doing something at Veterans Park.

“It’s always a struggle to do anything there,” Lubenow said.

Kawecki asked if the council could still use the one time funds to move forward with the project while still pursing the grant.

York said, “What I would recommend doing is continuing to apply for the grants and give that two to four weeks while at the same time beginning the production of the RFP for a company to come in and do the remediation of the park and then once we find out if we get the Brownfield grant or not… then the RFP document could go out.”

The earlier motion passed 4-1 with Lubenow opposed.