Officials hope to see grass on field within two weeks

DESLOGE — The Desloge soccer field could have grass growing on it within a couple of weeks. City Administrator Greg Camp said the field was seeded last week.

“We got the seed and straw down just in time for the rain over the weekend,” Camp said. “The timing couldn’t have been any better. We put down some winter wheat so we should have some grass within a couple of weeks.”

Camp said King Construction seeded the field instead of the city’s department of public works. He said the construction company had the necessary equipment and was able to get the job done within a day.

“It was an add-on to the project we did with the parking lot,” he said.

In May, Camp thought the field needed to be seeded by the middle of June to be ready by mid-August. He acknowledged then it was going to be an uphill battle to get grass to grow during the hottest time of the year. He said that is why the city decided to go ahead and put down the winter wheat with hopes of getting it to grow.

Desloge awarded a $71,580  contract to King’s Construction for the work on the soccer field. The city decided to add a parking lot because it was concerned about people parking their vehicles along city streets and how that would affect the Cantwell Neighborhood Connector Trail.

Camp said it was actually easier to put in the upper parking lot rather than raise the elevation of the entire field to match that of the planned parking area. It is to be large enough for about 50 vehicles and will have a gravel surface.

“The whole area along Walnut Street is bustling with activity,” he said. “Jokerst Paving is really flying along with the sidewalks. The field is done now and we hope to be playing soccer on it this fall.”

Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.