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Tony Mistlin: Ripons $6 Million Man benefactor
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Tony Mistlin, right, during a Ripon City Council meeting. - photo by Bulletin file photo

RIPON – When all is said and done, Tony Mistlin could be Ripon’s $6 Million Man.

At tonight’s Ripon City Council meeting, he’s scheduled to increase his donation to the proposed Mistlin Softball Field Complex to $3.5 million in an effort to help bridge the funding gap after the loss of the Redevelopment Agency.

Over the years, Mistlin has provided financial support to make possible the water feature at East Main Street, the Oak Street gazebo and park, the land to expand the sports park named in his honor, the construction of the amphitheater along with the nearby interactive water features, to name a few. The donation would easily push the value of his accumulative philanthropy for his adopted hometown past $6 million.

Back in October, Council had awarded O.C. Jones and Sons a contract for an estimated $4.5 million for the base bid of the Mistlin Softball Field Complex project. Those numbers were later lowered to $4.1 million following a change order.

However, awarding of the bid was put on hold due to the uncertainty with funding, specifically, the dissolution of the RDA.

Tony Mistlin’s donation will help bridge the funding gap.

Furthermore, city staff, in order to reduce the base bid cost to over the $3.5 million donation, will also request various adjustment to the design.



Major changes include:

• Eliminating the perimeter netting, which would not allow for adult slo-pitch games on two of the four fields until the netting is added later on.

•    Reducing the size of the dugouts.

•    Reducing the outfield distance by eliminating the retaining walls.

The proposed reduction came out to $423,156, bringing the base bid down to the $4.1 million and leaving $657,483 in contributions from the City’s capital fees.

For his part, Mistlin will be requesting an exclusive car dealer advertising and, perhaps, a display within and in the immediate area of the softball complex.

The session begins at 7 p.m. inside the Council Chambers, 259 N Wilma St.

For more information, call 209-599-2108 or log on to www.cityofripon.org