The council awarded the bid to Highland Turf (HTI), who will be performing the overhaul at a cost of $203,553. Wantz noted that the parking lot has been used extensively during the winter for the storage of snow and salt, as well as for public parking for the numerous park activities. - "Hence the reason for the condition it is in today."

Parks & Recreation Director Vaccare told the city Parks & Recreation Advisory Board at their June meeting that that HTI will commence with the work on the parking lot after July 4. The upgrade will entail the demotion of the existing parking lot and the construction of the new one.

The contractor will be applying on the city’s behalf for the grading permit, "and get all the paperwork squared away," so that they can start as soon as possible after the July 4 weekend, Vaccare stated, adding that the work needs to be finished by August 31 before football season commences. Because the work must be completed by the end of August, Vaccare said work around the parking lot is going to be very busy.

Vaccare said that HTI’s bid was $100,000 less than the amount that had been budgeted for the project.

The $100,000 left over from the parking project can be applied to other park-related improvements, and regarding that, the director said, "We can figure out what we can do with those remaining funds. There is a lot to be done."

The discussion of wear and tear on the Memorial Park parking lot also resulted in Councilman Joe Vigliotti asking if there were other places the salt and snow could be dumped, instead of Memorial Park.

City Manager James Wieprecht responded, "We (staff) have talked about some alternative locations. Public Works is open to some suggestions there, adding, "This parking lot is going to be a bit more robust than the current one as far as how it was constructed and will be constructed."