City parks facilities getting needed tune-ups with an $800,000 project
Apr. 22—Many parks facilities will soon see various renovations, including restroom upgrades, to modernize and enhance accessibility for visitors.
The project will use $420,275 in Capital Improvements Program sales tax funds and $381,127 in parks sales tax funding to complete the work, making the total project cost $801,402.
The CIP funding will go toward restroom renovations at the Northside Complex, Joyce Raye Patterson 50+ Activity Center and Bartlett Park.
The parks sales tax funds will go toward renovations at the Northside Complex for shelter renovation, tennis court lighting and work to the concrete and electrical service at the site.
The contract was awarded to Brooner Construction & Crane.
The bill authorizing the contract for construction was passed with a 9-0-0 vote at Monday night's city council meeting.
Chuck Kempf, director of Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities, said combining both funds maximizes the scale to complete the project.
The need to renovate the restrooms is to not only modernize them but also put them in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"They all needed to have a facelift. They needed to be improved," Kempf said.
Along with restroom renovations to the Northside Complex, other changes will include work on the on-site shelter, electrical work (including fixing lighting at the tennis courts) and concrete construction.
Kempf said the work to the Northside Complex is a stepping stone for renovations just across St. Joseph Avenue at Krug Park. In the future, there will be discussions on how to further connect the two facilities.
"I don't know if it was planned out to be this way. There is a point when everything is done that it works together," Kempf said. "When we do the Krug renovation, is there some ideas on how to improve the access from St. Joseph Avenue with pedestrian access? You still have to navigate a fairly wide street there to get from one to the other, but anything that we can do to bridge those two parks."
According to city documents, the construction will likely begin in the summer and will conclude in the fall. Kempf agrees that this project will follow that timeline.
As construction begins, more parks projects will be in the works. A bid process is underway for restroom replacements across various city parks for areas that need more than renovations.
The big hope is that both phases of the project will be finished by next year.
"Our hope is that all those bathrooms will be able to be opened on April 15, which is our typical opening day for our public restrooms," Kempf said.
Riley Funk can be reached at riley.funk@newspressnow.com.
