New shelter in village park gets a new bill for masonry

The Belgium Village Board on Monday approved spending $7,100 more to buy colored bricks for the new Community Park shelter that are just a touch darker than the ones at Heritage Park.

“I think it would look at lot better than natural grey blocks,” Public Works Director Dan Birenbaum said.

“It would make it look a lot prettier,” Village President Pete Anzia said.

Along with a change order, that brings the masonry cost of the project to more than $217,000.

The entire project’s price tag is more than $550,000, Village Treasurer Vickie Boehnlein said.

The village already has a donation from the Kohler Co. for $12,000 in fixtures.

Other donations could come in as well. Birenbaum said he meets with the Belgium Lions monthly and they had expressed an interest to contribute.

Boehnlein said the village has $17,000 in impact fees it could put toward the project. She also recommends contacting the Bruce Krier Foundation to see if a grant or donation would be possible.

The board voted, 6-0, to buy the colored bricks.

The village is replacing the shelter because the old one had foundation issues. It was taken down last month after an attempt to sell the structure — the wood is still usable — failed.

The village waited until fall to demolish the old shelter so it could be used to house summer events.

The new shelter will include a 900-feet larger concession stand connected to the pavilion — like the stand and shelter are connected at Heritage Park — a 625-square-foot restroom and repairs to the gazebo to bring it in line with Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

The original budget was $460,000 for the project, but inflation bumped it to $530,000.

The village’s capital improvement budget was adjusted to accommodate the increase.