Bainbridge Youth Baseball planning renovations

BAINBRIDGE -- Brian O’Donnell, president of the Bainbridge Youth Baseball League, presented his plans for updating certain areas of the Steward Park baseball diamond to the Town Council during its March meeting.

The proposed project is an expansion of the concession stand that will include the addition of stands with extra storage underneath, a press box above the concession building and restrooms, allowing for the removal of the portable toilets currently on site.

The Bainbridge Utility department will have to inspect the premises to locate accessible utilities before the project can move forward.

The Bainbridge Youth Baseball League has been around for about 20 years, offering families the chance to get involved in the community and build lasting connections over America’s pastime. Programs like this, however, do not come free. Concessions, clean-up and general maintenance all cost money, never mind large-scale renovations to the actual facilities. In the past, local farms have even donated multiple pounds of meat to help keep food costs low.

As a nonprofit, the Bainbridge Youth Baseball League relies heavily on grants, sponsorships and community donations to keep the program running year after year. Additional operating costs are funded with the registration fees it collects at the beginning of each season. These fees also allow the league to offer free skills clinics to players throughout the year.

In 2019 the cost of this project was estimated at approximately $40,000; however, O’Donnell is optimistic that not much has changed in that regard. With most of the labor being donated, and a $10,000 grant from the Putnam Community Foundation, this project may soon be under way.

For more information , or to find out how to make a donation, contact a member of the Bainbridge Youth Baseball League via Facebook at: https://facebook.com/NorthPutnamYouthBaseballLeague/

In other business:

— Previous Community Crossings projects in Bainbridge are being reworked for the entire month of April due to not having been done very well the first time.

— Town Marshal Ronnie Campbell received a tip regarding a card-skimming device placed on one of the gas pumps at the Casey’s gas station off U.S. 36 in Bainbridge. Marshal Campbell says the device was not operational when he came to investigate.