The unanimous approval by city councilors Wednesday for a second contract for the renovation of Rockwell Park should add as much as four weeks to the time workers will have to get things done this year, Park Director Ed Swicklas said.
The contract calls for paying the Schulz Corp. for $2.3 million to carry on the second phase of the park’s overhaul. It got $1.6 million for doing the initial part of the massive project, which is nearly complete.
Swicklas said that speeding up the project is also likely to save money for taxpayers because the cost of materials is escalating daily.
“We tried to save as much as we could,” he said.
The first part of the project focused on improving the parking lots and constructing a new entrance.
In the second phase, the contractor will install a new and fully accessible playground, divided into a section of toddler and another for older children.
More lighting, accessible walkways, a new restroom and a spray park are going in as well, located between the skate park and the Little League fields to the west – one of which will be lighted.
The old stone tower near the playground will be renovated and may be used to hold the mechanicals for the spray park.
There will also be horseshoe and bocce courts, plus two sand volleyball courts and two new picnic pavilions.
Swicklas said that with the approval of the second phase contract, park officials will turn their attention to the final phase, which would include the reopening of the historic lagoon.
Plans call for filling half of it and turning the eastern half into a wetlands, perhaps with an education boardwalk through them.
There won’t be swimming or a beach, officials have said.
The skatepark is slated to open by early fall on the site of the former basketball court. Construction on it should be underway soon.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
8 comments:
Art Ward has done an excellent job with our parks.
Is the time right to spend millions on parks when people cant even fill their gas tanks or maybe buy heating oil this winter? These parks should be put on the back burner for now.
Artie has done Zilch for the Parks, except for his Boulevard of course.
The Parks have been on the back burner for 30 yrs. Pay me now or pay me a lot more later.
Couture and Zoppo got the ball rolling, Stortz let Zoppo do her thing, and she deserves much credit.
Art was a non-factor during all that time, and doesn't seem to be doing any more now.
stop with the pat on the back ellen!
The only thing Zoppo Gestopo deserves credit for is ignoring the historic aspects of the park and avoiding any restoration work while squandering precious money on unnecessary parking.
She was eliminated from city politics and should ALSO be kicked out of the Historical Society for this and other slanderous reasons.
script it ellen, maybe it will work this time
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