Marion Sports Complex lake work showing progress

Marion Sports Complex lake work showing progress

Restoration project set for spring completion

By Mark Randall

news@theeveningtimes.com Restoration work on the lake at the Marion Sports Complex is ongoing and should be completed by spring if the weather cooperates.

Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rawls updated the City Council on the project and said the work on the lake itself is finished.

A1 that remains is to finish the sidewalks and to fix the ruts left behind by the heavy machinery on the grass.

“The lake itself looks good,” Rawls said. “I don’t have any problem with any of the work that has been done.”

Contractors from B& B Utility Contractors, Inc.

rebuilt the embankments which had been eroding since the pond was build in 1997 due to wind and wave erosion. Some areas on the west side of the pond had lost as much as six to ten feet of embankment.

A protective mat has been placed over the embankments and new rip rap has been installed to prevent future erosion.

Rawls said the city opted to do the concrete work to restore portions of the sidewalk along the walking trail that had to be tom up so contractors could get its heavy equipment to do the work on the embankments.

City workers have put the forms in, but recent rainy weather has prevented them from doing any concrete work. “Gordon’s men have been out there and they have gotten the west side approach to the lake finished,” Rawls said. “We’ve got the rest formed up. But it got to the point where it started raining. So as weather allows, they are doing wh; they can out there get everything finished on the lake.

Every time it look: like it starts to get dry, it rains again.

So we haven’t bee able to get out there.”

Mayor Frank Fogleman asked whether Rawls stil plans to do the reseeding of the gras or will contract the work out.

“Are you at that point yet?”

Fogleman asked. Is p|

it still on your mind that at some point you will be able to do it and not the contractor?”

The city may be able to save about $6,000 if they do the seeding work using its own labor.

“As soon as we get finished with the concrete work and we can get out there without tearing up what we have already done, we will start addressing all of that.” He restoration work cost about $276,000 and was included as part of a $16 million bond passed by voters in 2017 for another round of capital improvements — $1.075 of which is for parks improvements.

Work to rehab the shore of the pond at the Marion Sports Complex has been underway for several months. After a break due to winter weather, work has resumed with an eye on com-

eting the project by spring_

Photo by Mark Randall