The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors Monday evening approved a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) plan for Fiscal Year 2013, which begins on July 1st, amounting to about $556,500. The funds would come mostly from bonds and the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), along with other sources, such as grants. Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring provided a break-down of the costs and related projects.  The most expensive part of the CIP is a new $246,000, 4,000 square foot Park Maintenance Building, which would tentatively be situated south the of skate park, but the location itself has not been finalized.

Conceptual drawing of the proposed Park & Rec Maintenance Bldg.

The building, according to Herring would be larger than the current building, and last some 20-to 30-years. He said it would not be “luxurious,” but functional and handicapped accessible. He says it would house the Park Director’s office, a uni-sex restroom, a climate-controlled shop, four-garage doors, and storage area. The building would also be connected to water and electricity, which is something the current building does not have. A majority of the funding for the building would come from the Capital Improvements fund (i.e. bonding). Approximately $10,000 would come from the Local Option Sales Tax fund.

Another part of the CIP plan calls for a new fence around the Sunnyside Park softball field, along with fabric for a backstop. That, along with regrading of the infields, would cost about about $23,000 altogether. Herring said there may be opportunities for cost-sharing with Frederickson Foundation, as well.  The CIP plan also includes reconstruction of the tennis courts at Sunnyside Park. Herring says at least two of the courts are “unplayable”, as far as tournament play is concerned, due to hazardous cracks. Herring says he will meet with Atlantic School District officials next week to discuss cost-sharing on the project. The projected cost of the project is $235,00. The City of Atlantic, according to Herring will likely bond for $92,000. He hopes the district is willing to pay an equal share. An additional $50,000 is available from the U-S Tennis Association. The tennis court project would not include work on the restrooms.

Other projects the Park and Rec Board approved as part of their Capital Improvement Plan, include replacement, grading and widening of a full length section of sidewalk in the Atlantic City Park, along Poplar Street, and the repair of a portion of the “spoke” sidewalk from the northwest corner of the park toward the center of the park. The project is expected to cost $25,000, and would be included in the bond package. The CIP also includes work on a walkway and shelter at Holt Park, which is located between 17th and 14th Streets, on Olive Street. The $4,000 pricetag would be paid for using LOST monies.  And finally, Herring said he wants to include in the CIP, the repair and enclosing of the ends to the half-pipe at the Sunnyside Park skateboard area. It’s expected that will cost about $7,000, which will come from the Local Option Sales Tax fund.

The Board will present its CIP to the City Council during its meeting Wednesday evening.  In other business, the Parks and Rec Board approved renewing a contract with the Nishna Valley YMCA, for their various parks and rec programs. The annual fee of $10,300 is unchanged from last year. Part of that money is used to pay the Sunnyside Pool Manager. Speaking of the Sunnyside Pool, Herring said the CIP includes $16,500 for improvements such as new chairs and/or lounge chairs, umbrellas for tables around the pool, and for the life guard stands, new lighting in the shower areas, and upgrades to the locker rooms. Herring says $5,000 would come from bonds to pay for the project, while the remaining $11,500 would come out of the LOST.

Missouri River levees that were damaged by last year’s floodwaters remain vulnerable, with spring a little over two months away. Congress has appropriated money for emergency repairs and more money is promised. Colonel Robert Ruch, Commander of the U-S Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District, says they’re focused on repairing the critical sections of levee first.  “Most of those levees held up very well through the flood of 2011,” Colonel Ruch says. “We know where our greatest weaknesses are and that’s where we’re putting our greatest strength.” Floodwaters breeched some levees in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, damaged others, and put great strain on all the levees downstream. Ruch says it will take months to restore the basin’s levee system to where it was in early 2011.

“We probably need a full year to get things completely restored back to pre-flood conditions,” Ruch says. “We have ideas as to what the critical things are that need to be ready for as early as March 1st, when we consider the runoff season to begin and where we could be in some danger of rising waters.” Kim Thomas, chief of the Corps’ “Readiness Branch” in Omaha, acknowledges the Missouri River levee system remains vulnerable.  “Those levees are definitely in critical condition,” Thomas says. “We’ll get them closed up. We’ll get the bridges closed up. We’ll get all the critical repairs done but there’s still a lot to go there. We have a lot of seepage concerns that we have to go through and get geotech investigation on, do analysis, do design.” Thomas says the first order of business is to repair the sections of levee that are most severely damaged.

“Those pieces will be fixed,” she says. “It’s the under-foundation seepage issues that require extensive analysis and that takes time.” Some estimates indicate it could be late this year or even 2013 before repairs to the levee system are complete.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)