Bunkers at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park’s golf course have undergone renovations since the fall, but the Maryville City Council allocated more funds toward the project and added on another part of the plan at its meeting Monday.
Council approved a contract with Viridity, LLC for the renovations of the Sechrest 18 bunkers at the park for an amount not to exceed $344,087.35 in September of 2025. City Manager Ryan Heiland said the project includes reshaping the bunkers and installing new drainage systems and sand around them.
“As they’ve gotten into the project, they realized additional sod was necessary to fully restore the areas impacted during construction,” Heiland said.
The original sod placed near the bunkers was worn down after extensive grading and shaping, so Heiland said around 35,000 square feet of additional sod is needed for proper turf establishment, durability and aesthetics.
The extra sod cost around $12,241.65, bringing the total contracted amount with Viridity, LLC to $356,329. Heiland said Mozingo’s Fiscal Year 2026 fund for the Bunker Renovation Project was $510,000, so the project is still coming in under budget.
“I was able to get out there last week and take a look at the front nine, which are completed, and it looks really nice, the white sand looks really good,” Heiland said. “Then, just the way they shape the bunkers, they haven’t completely gotten rid of the areas that are still sod, so there’s still a lot of playability…(with) the former bunker areas.”
Mozingo Lake Recreation Park Director Jordyn Greenhaw previously said the new sand, which is supplied by Covia Corp, is angular instead of round. This prevents the sand from blowing away in the wind and averts drainage issues.
Along with the change order to the initial contract, another contract was formed between the city and Viridity, LLC for bunker renovations at Mozingo.
Heiland said the Watson 9 golf course was constructed in 2015, and while the bunkers are still in good condition, he said they are starting to show typical signs of wear and tear.
Since there are already materials like sand and pipes on site, Heiland proposed to the Council that Viridity, LLC could do work on Watson 9 once finished with Sechrest 18.
“If you look at the Watson 9, we’re going to have to do something with the bunkers in about 10 years anyways, and so this would actually push that time frame off for about 20 years,” Heiland said.
Another positive benefit he mentioned was that all 27 holes within the course would look consistent, since all would utilize the same sand.
The Council approved the $17,711.22 cost. Although it was not originally budgeted, Heiland said the Watson 9 Foundation has committed $4,000 toward the project. The city will pay a little over $13,000 using Mozingo’s fund, which he said contains just over $800,000.
This story is brought to KXCV-KRNW by The Northwest Missourian, the campus newspaper of Northwest Missouri State University.