Capital projects reach crossroads

January 5, 2009

By Steve Eighinger

Four major Quincy Park District capital projects should -- or at least could -- reach completion or move to their next phases in 2009.

The four projects, which currently total $7.3 million and will easily reach $10 million or more at some point, involve work at Bob Mays, Washington and Boots Bush parks, plus the Cedar Creek Linear Parkway.

The first of three development phases at Bob Mays Park at 18th and Koch's Lane should be finished no later than early spring, said Park District Executive Director Mike Parks.

Parks said district crews will be finishing up the "Alle of Trees" soft surface trail and tying up "a few loose ends" that will complete the $500,000 first phase of development at the 53-acre site. Among the other amenities in that first phase are a picnic shelter and restroom, a playground, and parking lot.

There is no timetable for the completion -- or even the start -- of the remaining two phases, which will cost $1 million at today's prices. Those phases are scheduled to include a 4.5-acre lake, a second shelter/restroom, tennis and basketball courts, and a south loop road.

"There is no funding available at this time," said Parks, who outlined how the district is in constant pursuit of state and federal grants for such items.

The park was dedicated last summer and served as the new headquarters area of the Breakfast Optimist Club-sponsored Soap Box Derby.

Cedar Creek Linear Parkway is the largest overall ticket on the Park District agenda. The Cedar Creek project is a massive undertaking that will not be completed until some time in the next decade, although the first phase between 12th and 18th streets should be wrapped up in the spring.

The Cedar Creek project will eventually stretch from Bonansinga Drive along the riverfront out to 36th Street. The project will be an integral link in the city's Greenways and Trails Plan that dates back to the 1940s and was resurrected in earnest eight years ago. When eventually completed, all major corridors of the city will be linked by a recreational trail suitable for use by hikers, bikers and walkers.

The first phase of Cedar Creek will carry a $1.3 million price tag, with the second phase between Fifth and 12th streets currently sitting at $2.4 million. There is no schedule in place for the start of construction on the second phase. The district is awaiting word on federal funding.

"The public works stimulus package (president by President-elect Barack Obama) could aid this," said Parks, who hopes to know if the district will receive any of the stimulus funds by the time the first phase is completed.

The final 18 blocks of the Cedar Creek project will likely cost at least double what the first two phases will by the time it is completed. Neither the acquisition of all needed property or planning costs have yet been completed for any part of the project beyond the first two phases.

The first phase of redeveloping Boots Bush Park into a mark functional soccer facility is a $1 million project that is awaiting state funding, which Parks is optimistic the district will receive. Word should come in the near future.

If funds materialize, work could begin when weather permits in the spring and be completed by fall of 2009. First-phase redevelopment will include the removal of out-of-date tennis courts west of the Flinn Stadium parking lot and building a walkway near the area where two existing soccer fields will undergo major redevelopment to improve the playing surfaces.

A $640,000 phase two development at Boots Bush will eventually provide for the addition of two more soccer fields will eliminate the baseball diamond at the park. Junior baseball programs that have use the field in the past will be moved to Moorman Park, where a $100,000 renovation of the baseball facility at that site will be done. The $100,000 is included in the $640,000 price tag.

The $640,000 second phase was scaled back earlier in the year to make the cost more workable. Half that cost will have to be funded locally, Parks said, which means the local soccer community will need to raise $320,000.

A $1.1 million redevelopment of Washington Park could be completed in June. Already finished is a $300,000 restroom area and $165,000 upgrade of the Lincoln Plaza area.

Scheduled for early 2009 are such major items as the $200,000 replacement of the fountain in the middle of the downtown park, plus a $100,000 upgrade of the site's electrical system and a $100,000 upgrade of the park's irrigation system.

Parks said electrical upgrade is especially significant because it will make the park more energy efficient and provide an improved backdrop for special events at the site.