By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – The Chelsea City Council approved a bid on April 21 for the entrance road and water line to the city’s new sports complex off Shelby County 11.

The council accepted the lowest and best bid by Baird Contracting, Inc. for $761,950.10.

“There are a lot of pieces to a puzzle anytime you do something,” Mayor Earl Niven said. “This is the last piece we’ll be approving until we get to the actual design of the three baseball fields, so it’s getting exciting. Hopefully, by this time next year, we’ll be playing on those fields.”

Niven said the entire project – including the construction of six competitive tennis courts, eight baseball fields, a football field, a soccer field and a 5-acre lake – could require up to six years to complete.

The project is estimated to cost between $7 and $8 million.

The council also approved a retail beer and table wine license for Murphy Oil, USA.

In other business, Fire Chief Wayne Shirley showed a video from the Every 15 Minutes program held for juniors and seniors at Chelsea High School.

The two-day program was designed to show students the potential consequences of impaired and distracted driving. Along with city and county officials, agencies and volunteers, CHHS students participated in a mock car crash involving a drunk driver and a mock funeral for two students fatally injured in the crash.

The mothers of the two students read letters to their children during the funeral.

“A lot of different groups went into this,” Shirley said. “I’m very proud of it. The parents of these students who had to go through this … that was some tough stuff.”

Shirley said the broadcast team at CHHS filmed and compiled each part of the program into an 18-minute video. The video link can be found at Cityofchelsea.com on the fire department’s page.

“It made me realize and be more sensitive to distracted driving that I’m guilty of,” Councilwoman Allison Nichols said of the program.

Nichols’ son played the role of a student paralyzed in the mock car crash.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to get to be a part of this, and it was a very difficult thing to go through.”

Scott Weygand gave an update on Fire at the Foothills BBQ and Chili Cook-Off held April 18, and thanked the city council for its support of the fundraiser for Chelsea Fire and Rescue’s fire and safety program featuring Hero the Dalmatian, Chelsea Kiwanis Club and The March of Dimes.

The event raised $350 for Hero’s program and $4,400 for Kiwanis Club charities and The March of Dimes.

“It was an even bigger event,” Weygand said.