Thanks to MRJ Constructors and donations, the building will be ready in a month.
SEATTLE – It’s not often that Bainbridge Island Little League president Mike Sheehan is reduced to the role of baggage handler.
But there he was by the backstop at Safeco Field Sunday, holding onto coats, food and everything else as he watched several kids from the Little League baseball and softball teams along with BILL field operations manager Jay Kinney and scheduling coordinator Peter Riely posing with a $5,000 novelty check from the Building Industry Association of Washington.
The check will go to help rebuild “Ed’s Shed,” the multipurpose structure at Rotary Field that was badly burned back in March.
Sheehan also played director – telling his daughter, Lauren, to look at the camera – and prognosticator – when he told Tyler Riely that he would be standing on the mound in a few years’ time.
“To come here is pretty cool,” he said. “It’s fun. They’ll go back and tell their friends all about it.”
Sheehan and the rest of the crew were in attendance at Sunday’s Seattle Mariners game to receive the $5,000 donation from the BIAW.
The donation came about when Rebecca Hale, the Mariners’ public relations director, told Sheehan that the organization, which works as an advocacy for the building industry in the state of Washington, had heard about what had happened and wanted to donate some money for building materials.
“They’ve been donating items as well as giving us a discount on building materials,” he said. “It’s been great.”
The Mariners invited the group out to received the check and gave them seats afterward so they could watch the Mariners defeat the White Sox 11-5.
Sheehan said the shed will be done in a month.
Martin Hogger and Brian Moore of MRJ Constructors, along with the many local suppliers, contractors and people who donated what they could, were greatly appreciated, he said.
“They’ve been unbelievable,” Sheehan said. “They’ve (MRJ) done everything to build the shed. They’ve gotten various vendors to help out. All those guys have been awesome.
“I don’t know where we would have been without those guys. It’s a credit to MRJ and the relationships they’ve built.”
Hogger said they got involved when the BILL asked Moore if they could help out with the project.
After building it through the shell stage with volunteers, Sheehan asked if they could finish it out and Hogger said “we told them we’d take it from there.”
They installed the electrical fixtures Monday and just need to finish up some interior and exterior work.
He said they’ve also installed commercial grade doors, hinges and locks to help prevent future break-ins.
The shed, which had been broken into several days before, was burned badly in the early hours of March 4 and had to be razed.
Police arrested Devon Williams about three weeks later after he told them he started the fire when he wanted to destroy love letters from an ex-girlfriend so his new girlfriend wouldn’t find them.
Sheehan said they plan to get a security system with motion detectors or cameras installed to prevent future break-ins.
“I think people now, because of what’s happened, people are watching out now,” he said. “When that upper shed (was broken into,) it got reported immediately.
“People watch and drive-by and they’ve got a watchful eye to what’s going on out there.”
Sheehan said they’ve got trophy case and some new shelving installed at the shed and will work on making a room so they can hold meetings as well.
“It should be a good place for meetings,” Hogger said. “It’ll be a nice space when its finished.”
Sheehan said they’ve got plans to upgrade the snack shack, while Hogger said he wouldn’t mind redoing the bathrooms.