Making a splash: Joplin City Council moving forward with Ewert Park projects
Apr. 16—A place to play in the water in summer and ice-skate in winter will be on the way later this year after the city hires a contractor for work at Ewert Park in Joplin.
Joplin city staff outlined the process for hiring what is called a contractor at-risk at Monday night's City Council meeting to oversee construction of the project and keep it within its $5 million budget. That is a different process from the usual bid-and-build method in which bids are sought from contractors and the project goes to the low bidder with city and engineering oversight.
Paul Bloomberg, parks director, and Leslie Haase, finance director, presented a schedule at the meeting for hiring the contractor at-risk. The effort will start Monday when the city will advertise for those with qualifications as a contractor at-risk to file their information in response to the city's query.
The construction manager at-risk assumes the risk for the construction project at a contracted price, much as a general contractor, and provides consultation regarding construction. That contractor also commits to delivering the project within a guaranteed maximum price, Haase said.
City officials will look into the background of applicants, including the past performance and experience as a contractor at-risk along with projects of similar size, the safety record, and a proposed budget for the Ewert project and schedule of construction.
Haase said there is less chance of delays and cost overruns because change orders are not used in at-risk projects.
They expect to have a contract ready for council submission in August for the contractor.
Public input
When a change at Ewert Park was being considered by city officials because the pool had significant leaks and needed expensive repairs, public input sessions were held and the city held discussions with residents of the East Town neighborhood.
Chalise Cooper, an East Town resident who lives near the park and organizes the annual Emancipation Park Day celebration there, said in 2021 at a public session that whatever the final plan turned out to be, she hoped it included a water feature that catered to neighborhood children.
"I would like to see something that is low maintenance for the city, more cost-efficient but also something for the children who live on this side of town that would be low cost, easy access and accessible, so they could ride their bikes or they could walk. There are no other aquatics on this side of town," Cooper said then.
The splash park will be free to users. There will be an admission price to the ice rink, and skate rentals will be available. The price hasn't been determined yet.
Ewert Park was a gift to the Black community in Joplin in 1924. Joplin attorney, Paul Ewert and his wife, Sidney, deeded land to the city to create a park for residents of the East Town neighborhood to provide a place where they could go; at that time, Blacks could not visit other city parks because of segregation.
Signs bearing information about the history of Ewert Park and its location near Route 66 are to be placed in the park. The original Route 66 section through Joplin followed Langston Hughes-Broadway in nearby East Town. In later decades, the federal route was changed so the historic highway followed Seventh Street, which runs along the south side of the park.
Because of its history, city officials worked with Black residents in planning for the changes to the park. Some of those residents did not favor replacing the existing pool at the park with a splash feature, but city officials did obtain the agreement of many of them for the new project after explaining the problems with the pool and the repair costs.
Bloomberg said at that time that splash features were becoming favored by children and families because of their ease of use and affordability. City officials favored the idea because the hiring of enough lifeguards to staff city pools had become difficult.
Other improvements
In order to negotiate agreement with Ewert Park stakeholders, the city agreed to provide a package of improvements to the park that includes the construction of a covered basketball court, a small amphitheater, and history kiosks.
Some council members at Monday's meeting expressed concerns about safety in the park because it is near homeless shelters.
Bloomberg responded that the project calls for the addition of security lights and cameras within the park. City park rangers will help patrol the park as will the Joplin Police Department, he said. The splash park and ice ribbon will be fenced, and there will be staff on hand when the features are open to watch over those in the park and to provide first aid.
New features to be constructed:
—Wet and dry play areas, in the splash park with updated shade structures, landscaping and improvements to the current bathhouse building.
—A new playground with poured-in-place rubber surfacing to replace the current playground.
—A covered basketball/multiuse court with lighting, outlets and a water fountain to replace the existing tennis courts.
—An amphitheater with power for speaker systems and lighting for nighttime events.
In 2021, a breakdown of construction costs for all features was put at $5,829,375. Of that, $5 million was to pay for the splash park and ice ribbon construction.
Get a peek
Residents who wish to see drawings of the changes coming to the park and participate in a public input survey may do so until Monday by going to an online open house at www.ewertsplashpark.com.
That virtual open house also is available for viewing at City Hall, 602 S. Main St., and the Joplin Public Library, 1901 E. 20th St.
