In front of an anxious full house this week, the Issaquah City Council made many athletes happy by awarding a bid for two turf athletic fields at Central Park in the Issaquah Highlands.

“We’ve worked long and hard on it with you,” said Ed Evans prior to the Council vote.

Evans is a board member of the Issaquah Soccer Club, which raised $100,000 toward the project.

“It’s for the kids. We look at it as the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said.

The first turf field had been in the works since last fall, but the second was contingent on getting the necessary funding.

The city won a grant from the state and was given $50,000 from the King County youth sports community grant to help close the gap.

The project will take $167,000 from the city’s parks bond in order to pay for both fields, which will also include lights.

The winning bid for the project was for $1.98 million.

According to the city, that money was originally slated to go toward the first phase of the Cybil-Madeline Park, an undeveloped park area located in Olde Town Issaquah near the confluence of the east fork and main stem Issaquah Creek.

Council members said while this was not an ideal situation, they had few issues with putting the money toward a project with so much community goodwill.

“For me the decision is very, very easy. I’m happy and pleased to support it,” said council member Fred Butler.

Council member Maureen McCarry said while she was concerned about taking the money from another park, she understood that this was one of the best uses for the money.

“This is a remarkable joint effort among many parties,” said council member John Rittenhouse. “I’m truly appreciative of the donation made by the Issaquah Soccer Club, all of these pieces go into making this possible when it didn’t seem like it would be possible last fall.”

He also shared the concern about reallocating the money and requested the parks department ensure that the Cybil-Madeline project is at the top of the list when capital projects for parks are being considered in the future.

Council member Dave Kappler said he was glad to see the residents of the Highlands had maintained their promise to support the field if the trees between the south pond and the fields were left in tact. An earlier proposal called for the trees to be removed.

He added that due to winds which sweep through the gap between Squak and Tiger Mountains along the southwest corner of the park, perhaps putting in hedges would alleviate future problems.

Members of the community spoke in favor of the project, including members of the Issaquah Youth Lacrosse organization, which currently has no place in Issaquah to play.

Matthew Balkman, the co-president of Issaquah Youth Lacrosse, said the club would love the chance to play on a field in Issaquah.

“It will be a tremendous thing for the community to build that second field and we encourage you to do it,” he told the council prior to the vote. The club has committed to purchase and maintain lacrosse goals for the fields.

Joseph Ford, a board member of the Issaquah Soccer Club told the council the community is behind the second field and that it would a wonderful addition to the community.

“There are a lot of people out there who would see this as a point of pride for the community, see that it would enhance their home values and give them a chance to say one more time that we love Issaquah,” said Ford.

Anne McGill, the parks and recreation director for the city, said the fields are expected to be finished by the spring of 2010.