After a few strikes, City of Elizabethton and Minnesota Twins made their recent plate appearance count.

Elizabethton Mayor Curt Alexander spoke to City Council members Thursday and provided an update on the discussions between the City and Minnesota about a new clubhouse for the Twins’ Elizabethton affiliate located at Joe O’Brien Field.

Council unanimously approved, with Councilman Richard Tester absent from the meeting, the measure to allow payment for $33,299.50 worth of work provided by Thomas Weems’ architect firm for the development of a new facility. The payment will then be passed to the Minnesota front office for reimbursement to the City.

Alexander commended the work of Weems, who worked on roughly 20 designs before both parties agreed on a design, titled Option 7, Revision 6.

The agreed-upon design features an 8,020-square-foot clubhouse, which includes different amenities including a weight room and training room. According to information provided from the meeting, Minnesota will provide the necessary equipment for the home side for the rooms while the City will be responsible for the vision side.

To this point, Minnesota has not committed to contributions, according to City Manager Jerome Kitchens. Alexander added that contributions could be worked out once the plan is submitted for approval. Before any traction can be made with the design, it must be presented to Minor League Baseball for approval to make sure it adheres to regulations in place.

Alexander added that the City has told Minnesota they have a set amount of funds to work with for the project, the approximate $1.5 million which was approved by City Council. Currently the City and Minnesota have a memorandum of understanding in place to continue play at Joe O’Brien Field for the foreseeable future.

Due to the timeline for the upcoming season, Alexander added that construction on a new clubhouse would not be completed prior to 2018 but that construction would take place during the season to be finalized by 2019.

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Looking to utilize green space through Gap Greek Road, the City provided a helping hand for a potential new park.

City Council voted to contribute $4,000 to the County’s $50,000 project of acquiring 9.2 acres of land through Gap Creek Road to be utilized as a possible park in the future, but for the money to be returned if used for any reason besides the park.

The motion passed with Sam Shipley casting the lone no vote, citing not enough information.

Kitchens told Council members that the County will look at obtaining grant funding and donations to develop a park with two softball fields, a walking trail and other items for the public.

Having the green space available on the west side of the city has been listed as a need, Parks and Recreation Manager David Nanney told members.

Kitchens added having a park in the area will service a need, especially with the growth of residential development on Mary Patton Highway.

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In other business, City Council voted to move forward to contribute funds with BrightRidge Utility for a valuation study through MidSouth Utility as part of a potential merger between BrightRidge and Elizabethton Electric. Council also agreed to donate old park equipment to the County to be refurbished for public use and amend an ordinance to allow a micro brewery or brewery to set up shop in downtown Elizabethton.