By BILL SHEA

bshea@messengernews.net

Three ball diamonds at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex will be getting some upgrades.

The work will be done at Diamond 3, the primary baseball field, and in the mini majors section of the complex that has four fields that replicate Major League Baseball stadiums.

Diamond 3 will receive a new backstop behind home plate and new dugouts. In the mini majors area, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium will get new backstops.

The Fort Dodge City Council on Monday hired Doyle Construction, of Fort Dodge, to do the work at a cost of $513,945.

The work will begin this month and is to be completed by mid-April 2021, according to Lori Branderhorst, the director of parks, recreation and forestry.

Woodruff Construction LLC, of Fort Dodge, submitted a bid of $528,007. A bid offered by Kolacia Construction, of Fort Dodge, was withdrawn by the company.

Doyle Construction was also hired by the council to do some earthmoving and to install some new curbs and gutters near the grain silo mural at Loomis Park on Hawkeye Avenue. It will be paid $46,298.70 for that work.

Other bids came from Rasch Construction Inc. ($52,974) and Russ’s Construction ($57,032.13). Both of those companies are from Fort Dodge.

Also on Monday, the council hired Allers Associates Architects, of Fort Dodge, to design an addition to the Community Early Childhood Center at 1314 S. 24th St. The firm will be paid $127,000.

The city does not own the child care center. However, in February it received a $600,000 state grant on behalf of the center.

The planned addition will provide space to accommodate 56 more children.