New London – City officials are awaiting state approval before sending out to bid a nearly $1 million plan to renovate Veterans Field on Cedar Grove Avenue.

The field, still used by some neighborhood residents but lacking any playground equipment, has been closed to the public since 2003 when elevated levels of arsenic and lead were found in the soil — remnants of coal ash deposited on the field decades prior.

The contamination was discovered as the field was being prepared for placement of temporary portable classrooms for elementary school students during a school construction project. The city obtained $1.7 million in state funds to encapsulate the site with fabric and add soil.

The new project is an attempt to bring the field, once known as Morgan Park, close to the way it was before placement of the classrooms.

Public Works Director Brian Sear said the city has asked the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for a one-year temporary release of an environmental land-use restriction in place at the field.

“That’s the hurdle we’re out right now,” Sear said.

Kent + Frost Landscape Architecture of Mystic has already completed the design and construction drawings. Plans show the work will include a renovated baseball field, a new soccer/football/lacrosse field, a walking track and seasonal restrooms.

Since the project is scaled back from a $3 million plan originally presented by Kent + Frost, things like concession stands, parking lot work and playscape are reserved for possible future phases of work at the park.

The city is using the approximately $1 million from the money left over from a bond appropriation approved during the construction of Winthrop and Nathan Hale elementary schools, according to Mayor Michael Passero. The city has spent about $130,000 for the design and development of bid documents and about $850,000 is leftover for the field work.

The playscape that used to be located at the field was recently removed and will be used as parts for other playscapes throughout the city. Sear said the playscape was not certified safe during one of the regular inspections and represented an attractive nuisance.

Sear anticipates approval from DEEP later this year although an exact timeline is unclear. Final plans for the field are scheduled to go before the Parks and Recreation Commission at its meeting in September.

g.smith@theday.com