WATERLOO -- Plans for a $500,000 upgrade to Lafayette Park are set to get under way.

Waterloo City Council members are scheduled to vote Monday on a proposed contract with AHTS Architects of Waterloo to design the improvements, which could include a ball diamond, playground equipment, shelters and more.

The contract would be based on hourly fees with a maximum of $42,500.

Lafayette Park is located on the corner of Lafayette and Vinton Street in the Rath Brownfield area.

The project would be financed with a $500,000 Brownfield Economic Development Initiative grant, which has been awarded due to the city borrowing four times that amount from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 108 program.

Community Planning and Development Director Don Temeyer said the architect was chosen by a selection committee.

Other scheduled council business includes:

n A new waste water treatment and flow control agreement with ConAgra Foods for the company's expansion in the MidPort Industrial Park near the Waterloo Regional Airport. Waste Management Services Superintendent Tim Shea said the agreement meets ConAgra's and the city's current needs, it prohibits another heavy water-using industry from locating in the area without significant capital expense to upgrade the collection system.

n Resolutions approving several applications to the Black Hawk County Gaming Association for gaming revenue grants. The largest requests include $480,000 to construct the actual performance amphitheater and $250,000 for a children's water playground as part of the pedestrian mall and riverwalk area near the Waterloo Center for the Arts.

n The second and possibly final reading of an ordinance creating an urban renewal area and tax increment financing district designed to encourage new development along the Highway 63 and East Fourth Street corridors on the city's east side.

The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers on the second floor of City Hall. Committee meetings, held before the regular meeting, include: Finance, 4:15 p.m.; a work session on the proposed traffic signals and Hammond and Ridgeway avenues, 4:30 p.m.; and a work session regarding digital television, 5 p.m.

Contact Tim Jamison at (319) 291-1577 or tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com.