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[Note: This material is copyright by the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.]

Waterloo City Council members voted unanimously Monday to earmark some $200,000 in interest earned on general obligation bonds to cover cost overruns on the project, which Leisure Services Commission officials hoped to complete before next spring's baseball season.

Original cost estimates on the project were in the $255,000 range but have ballooned to nearly $410,000.

"The construction costs, building materials and some of the unforeseen things necessary to complete the project ... are the reason for the increase in cost," said Leisure Services Director Paul Huting.

Steel prices have soared since the project started, and the city was forced to put in a sewer lift station and a deeper water line to serve the building being constructed at the stadium entrance, under the bleachers.

There were no objections to the bond reallocation during a public hearing on the measure. Because the money is coming from interest earned, the move does not take away from other bond-funded city projects.