Finally, it’s batter up at cages

The city has finally opened the batting cages at the Huntington Beach Sport Complex, more than a year after the city cut off ties with the original contractor on the project.

“They’re completed, in time and under budget,” Community Services Director Jim Engle said.

The cages were originally set to open in June 2004 as phase 2 of the $18-million sports complex project, along with several artificial-turf soccer fields and roller hockey arenas, but the contractor hired to do the project abandoned the work and kept nearly $950,000.

City officials eventually filed a lawsuit against Joe O’Connor and his Oregon-based Community Parks Foundation. An investigation by the Independent revealed that O’Connor had abandoned several similar projects in the past and had an outstanding felony arrest warrant for failing to appear in a lawsuit involving a Kalamazoo, Mich., soccer-club owner.

In June, Burbank firm Major League Softball Inc. was hired to complete the project. City staff members will now operate the facility.

The operating hours are Monday through Friday, 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The batting cages may also be reserved for use at other hours.

City leaders hope the batting cages bring in much-needed revenue to pay the loan debt on the project. Last year the city’s baseball diamonds generated about $100,000 in profits.

The city must now determine how it wants to complete the project. Engle said he plans to submit a proposal to the City Council by the end of the year addressing the remaining portions.

Environmental Board announces awards

The city’s environmental board has announced the winners of its annual Awards for individuals and businesses who have contributed to quality of life through their environmental work in the community.

This year the awards will be presented at the Oct. 17 City Council meeting by board chairman Ray Hiemstra. This year’s winner’s include:

* Cartridge World of Huntington Beach, a local business specializing in refilling printer cartridges for reuse rather than disposal.

* Former mayor Shirley Dettloff, for her leading role in Amigos de Bolsa Chica and membership on the California Coastal Commission. She is also on the board of directors for the Bolsa Chica Conservancy and Orange County Coastkeeper.

* Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy Executive Director Gary Gorman for his work restoring the wetlands from Beach Boulevard to the Santa Ana River.

* Bolsa Chica Conservancy volunteer Claire Grozinger for running their water quality monitoring program for years and documenting the water conditions at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

* Former Bolsa Chica Landtrust President Evan Henry, who served as integral force in the effort to preserve the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

* Bolsa Chica Stewards founders Kim and Thierry Kolpin for their work recruiting and supervising an army of volunteers over the last nine years to restore native plants on the lower portion of the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

* Huntington Beach Tree Society leader Jean Nagy, who has been a force in the greening of Huntington Beach through many tree-planting programs.

* Brian R. Parker, whose lifestyle and home are models for environmental responsibility in Huntington Beach. His home features a full solar-power system and energy-efficient components and utilizes native plant landscaping to reduce water and pesticide use.

* Simple Green for marketing an environmentally friendly product and administering the Adopt-a-Beach Program that sponsors 17 nonprofit groups to maintain a section of Huntington Beach for five months during the winter.

* Bolsa Chica Land Trust volunteer Linda Wolfe, who has supervised the “Miracles on the Marsh” elementary school education program since 2003.

Boys and Girls club to hold annual auction