Norwich — For years, Taylor Stevens has watched runners and walkers and soccer players go through their motions in the hot sun at Fontaine Field on Mahan Drive across from Kelly Middle School.

He watched parents and onlookers sit in the metal bleachers or along the sidelines, also in the sun.

So when it came time for the veteran Boy Scout to choose an Eagle Scout project last year, he knew he wanted to bring both shade and a place to rest to the field where he, too, had spent many hours as a youth, a high school track athlete and, now, as a 17-year-old prospective U.S. Marine in physical training.

“Community Wood Gazebo. Taylor Stevens Eagle Project 2015, Troop 4, Norwich, CT,” says the sign atop the 16-foot-square oak pavilion at the right corner of Fontaine Field.

A ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Fontaine Field to signal the official completion of the project that took about six months to plan and another six months to build.

But Stevens isn’t quite done. He plans to replace the two donated “Buddy Benches” with solid oak benches that will be bolted to the concrete slab.

Then he will have to write a detailed report on the project and present it to a committee of Boy Scout leaders who must certify his Eagle Scout achievement.

He has only five weeks to finish the project, Troop 4 Scoutmaster Keith Beguhl said, because Eagle Scouts must be certified before they turn 18, and Stevens’ birthday is March 6.

Beguhl and his wife, Joann Beguhl, who heads the committee of scout leaders that oversees funding and project operations for Eagle Scout projects, said they have been confident in Stevens’ ability throughout the complicated planning and construction of the gazebo.

Beguhl said Eagle Scouts must have earned at least 23 merit badges, including at least 13 specific badges that are “Eagle required”; Stevens has earned those 13 badges, plus another 25 merit badges.

At the start of the gazebo project, Stevens made a presentation last spring to the Norwich Recreation Advisory Board and later to the City Council for approval to build the gazebo at the city park.

He worked with Steve Way at Lowes, who designed the gazebo and approached carpenters, suppliers, a concrete company and numerous volunteers.

Then came the bake sales, car washes and other fundraisers. Stevens estimated he raised about half the $10,000 project total and received donations of materials and labor for the rest.

The gazebo is surrounded by a 3-foot gravel bed with rose bushes and other shrubs. A handicapped-accessible brick entrance faces the field. Concrete steps lead into the gazebo at the opposite end.

“It’s very tasteful,” said John Iovino, chairman of the Norwich Recreation Advisory Board. “The final product looks terrific. It’s a nice addition to the field itself.”

Iovino, director of student affairs at NFA, also knew at the outset that Stevens could handle the job. He said Stevens is a hard-working, dedicated student with an impressive resume approaching graduation.

“You don’t get to be an Eagle Scout for nothing,” Iovino said. “And he had some great advisors working with him.”

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday

What: Taylor Stevens Eagle Scout project ribbon-cutting and dedication of new gazebo at Fontaine Field, Mahan Drive, Norwich.

When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31

Event is open to the public.