Some restrooms will be installed at Dickinson Park in St. Joseph next year following action this week by city commissioners.

At their regular meeting, commissioners approved a motion to accept a Land and Water Conservation Fund Development Project Agreement for the project, moving it forward. St. Joe Public Works Director Greg Grothous tells us the work comes as a result of the city’s 50-year lease agreement with St. Joseph Public Schools so the high school baseball team can play at the park.

“We’ll build a restroom and improve the parking lot,” Grothous said. “Right now there’s just kind of a gravel lot there, so it’ll be a paved lot. We’ll have some designated parking with some ADA parking, a sidewalk that’ll hopefully connect from Stadium Drive to Lakeview, because we get a lot of cut throughs right there.”

There are also plans to eventually construct a playground at the park. Grothous says the restrooms could be used by baseball teams and users of the playground alike.

The city has received a $260,000 federal grant through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that will cover half of the project’s $520,000 total cost.

With commissioners green lighting the plan this week, construction is planned for the fall of next year, after the next baseball season.