(ABC 6 News) — At the Albert Lea City Council meeting on Monday, the council voted unanimously to approve an engineering agreement for improvements to Snyder Fields.

The agreement is with ISG of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. ISG submitted a design fee of $29,500 maximum. The council will seek public input for the improvements and design the changes this year with construction to begin in 2026.

Some of the improvements may include the concession stand, bathrooms, picnic area, playground, and an accessible walkway and parking area.

The project would be part of a larger effort to improve the ballfields after a 2020 study found deficiencies in the facilities, including non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The project also follows drainage work in 2022 along with new fencing and dugouts in 2023.

According to the city’s director of community engagement and enrichment, Cathy Malakowsky, designs and estimates for the project are expected to go to the Parks and Recreation Board in late spring, with hopes that they arrive in April.

The Board’s recommendations will then go to the City Council in the summer.

The council also voted unanimously to support a Freeborn County grant application to fund the first phase of a trail along the former UP rail corridor from Albert Lea to Hartland. For more information on that trail, click here.