Fosdick Announces Goal of Skateboard Park Ribbon Cutting: Memorial Day, 2010

Michael Miller for The Prairie Advocate News

Savanna Skateboard Park/Snowmobile Trail Committee Chairman Jack Fosdick said he wanted to do “whatever it takes” to ensure that the City’s long sought after Skateboard/Youth Park would be ready to go by Memorial Day of this year, at the Committee’s February 17th, 2010 meeting.

The meeting was attended by Committee members Fosdick, Lois Hunsaker, Bill Grummitt, Bill Robinson and Mayor Larry Stebbins. Also in attendance were Superintendent of Public Works John Lindeman, Police Chief Michael Moon, City Clerk Paul Hartman, and several area citizens including Kurt Dreger who was instrumental in securing the grant for the skateboard park from Senator Mike Jacobs.

Fosdick opened the meeting by soliciting comments from Lindeman, which included a review of the proposed area and what issues might arise from constructing the park there. Lindeman said that the initial plan had been to lay a slab of concrete on the existing slab at the Portland Avenue site, and that engineering consultant firm Willette Hofmann did not feel comfortable with pouring concrete without a structural analysis. They observed that several holes exist in the present slab, with trees growing out of some areas. Lindeman continued, saying that the area was in a 100 year flood plain, and also that parts of it may be classified as “wetlands”, which he said would be under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers. The City would need a “wetlands delineation”, if this were the case. Lindeman said while he thinks the park is a great thing for the City, it’s not a simple matter of “going in and putting in concrete”.

The Council reviewed a letter from District Conservationist James B. Dykema. Mr. Dykema reviewed his on site investigation of the Portland Avenue site, and his conclusion was that “as long as the skateboard project is located on the footprint of the ice house slab, any modifications to the slab area should be exempt from wetland rules and regulations. Additions to an area larger than the current slab may have wetland implications.” Lindeman said he “did not want to be a deterrent” to the project, but he felt the City Council should have a letter directly from the Corps of Engineers concerning this matter, not a second or third hand source. Mayor Stebbins agreed.

A fax from Quality Concrete to Kurt Dreger was also reviewed, in which the company detailed its price for concrete with fiber for the Skate Park, in the amount of $70.00 per yard based on weekday delivery with no overtime.

Fosdick then proposed the first of two motions. He motioned that the Committee go out for bids for the cost of the Skate Park, including ramp construction, insulation and equipment, and also to bring the City Council in on the matter. Lindeman commented that a site plan was needed. The committee voted unanimously to approve the motion.

Fosdick then motioned to put out for bid the work to cap the slab on which the park will sit with concrete, 4 or 5 inches, including site preparation, with reinforced steel, labor only, with the City providing the concrete and rebar. This motion was also unanimously approved.

A technical discussion of the dynamics of the concrete work followed, with questions from the audience including what type of concrete will be used, what type of rebar, and if it will require a sealer.

City Clerk Hartman suggested a cushion of sand between the slabs, with a sealer, a 10 by 10 foot control joint, and “six bag” concrete.

The resulting paperwork involved in the project, specifically the support document agencies, was addressed, with Mayor Stebbins commenting that there will be a lot of work in this area. The committee talked about who will do this work, eventually deciding to have Lindeman get a price for the work from Sharon Pepin for the cost of grant administration. Hartman and Lindeman will go line by line over the grant specifications and come back to the committee with a report.

After declaring that there was no news on the Snowmobile Trails, Fosdick said he felt that the committee “had moved ahead considerably”, and said that he would plan the next meeting of the committee.

Savanna Park District President Dennis McFadden said that the Park Board had intended on watching the skateboard park’s progress for a year, see if there are any major problems involved, and if there weren’t, take it over themselves. McFadden added that if the park gets built, perhaps the Park District could work something out with maintenance of the park during that year, though he hastened to add that he was speaking just for himself and not for the Park Board. Fosdick called this a “very nice gesture, and added that he wanted to put any hurt feelings aside to move forward with the plan for the kids of Savanna.