McAllen camping park project plagued by delays

McALLEN — Work on Fireman’s Park, where the city plans to offer fishing and camping around a 5-acre lake, should finish in late March, said Parks and Recreation Director Sally Gavlik.

It’s about time.

From the beginning, the Fireman’s Park project has been plagued by delays. In all, various headaches have added 151 working days to construction and required seven change orders that added about $272,400 to the bill.

“It just kind of seems like one thing after another,” said City Commissioner Jim Darling. When the park finally opens, though, Darling said he expects it to be a major attraction, drawing people who might otherwise head to South Padre Island for a day trip.

On Dec. 13, 2010, Gavlik took the first change order before the City Commission for approval. Plumbing at one of the park’s two bathrooms needed to be reworked, and the public utility had decided to replace some sewer lines on First Street. It’d cost $5,985, Gavlik told elected officials, with the McAllen Public Utility picking up the tab.

City leaders, content to let the utility cover the improvements, quickly signed off — but City Commissioner Marcus Barrera had a question.

“I drove out there the other day. It looks very different,” Barrera said. “But the pavilion area, obviously, is kinda down low, and I thought y’all were going to try and even out the levees — I guess (that’s) probably the best word for them — that contains the water, to a certain extent, so that people could, for example, sit on a park bench and look out over the water.”

To create a better view of the man-made lake from the surrounding park and upgrade the run-down pavilion, the City Commission later approved a $170,000 budget amendment. In all, McAllen has spent $2,377,880 on Fireman’s Park and expects to spend at least $490,198 more, said city Finance Director Jerry Dale.

The change required extra design work, additional surveying, more fill dirt and re-grading of the area. Today, though, you still can’t see the lake from the pavilion.

Raising the pavilion that high would put the fenced recreation area, which includes three campsites and a canteen, several feet above nearby First Street. It also would force Parks and Recreation to partially bury several trees the city had hoped to preserve.

Like most construction projects, Fireman’s Park came with unexpected surprises that further increased the cost.

The park’s sanitary sewer and storm water systems had to be redesigned, which cost $49,927 and added 61 days to the construction timeline. The city decided to add 15 parking spaces. A walking path was moved closer to the lake.

This month, construction workers were still on site. And the City Commission re-entered the equation, this time with a debate over whether the lake needed a fence.

After hearing Parks and Recreation had recommended a $53,155 fence to keep people away from the lake after hours for liability reasons, Barrera spoke up.

“We went through these same issues with the reflecting pool in front of the Convention Center. And a lot of people said, ‘Don’t do it. People are going to drown. It’s going to be terrible,’” Barrera told his fellow elected officials on Jan. 9. “And we did it, and it’s turned out to be one of the best things we’ve done in the city.”

Mayor Richard Cortez was more cautious, warning that McAllen couldn’t predict when or where an accident could happen. City Commissioner Aida Ramirez noted that any homeowner building a pool would be required to fence it.

After a lengthy discussion, they decided to table the fence proposal and ask for expert advice from the Texas Municipal League, a statewide association of cities. With two regularly scheduled City Commission meetings each month, tabling an item guarantees a two-week delay.

Elected officials heard back from the municipal league on Monday: A fence isn’t necessary, but McAllen should put up warning signs.

“The view of the lake is one of the big assets of that park,” Barrera said in an interview. “If what you’re doing is obstructing the view, you ruin a lot of the reason why we put the park there in the first place.”

But Monday’s meeting introduced yet another snag for Fireman’s Park. Barrera questioned a decision to install wire mesh on the fishing pier, and the item was tabled.

It will be back in two weeks — at the next meeting.

--

Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at dhendricks@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4452.

--

TWITTER
Follow Dave Hendricks on Twitter: @dmhj