Community Corner

Parks Chairwoman 'Appalled' at Condition of Cooks-La Novia

The park was torn up during the installation of two new wells and accompanying pipelines.

When GCI Construction Inc. signed a $815,000-contract with the city about this time last year to install pipes and two new wells at near the Ortega Equestrian Center, it agreed to return the area to pre-construction condition.

But the repair work done to the park is substandard, the chairwoman of the city's Parks, Recreation and Senior Services Commission said Monday night, calling the gravelly outfield and uneven fields at the baseball diamond and tire marks on grass near an asphalt trail "appalling."

She reprimanded city staffers for signing off on paperwork with the contractor that stated that, for the most part, the company exceeded its requirements. "That’s bologna, and you can spell that Oscar Mayer bologna," Chairwoman Kathy Hooper said.

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"This is a revenue-generating park. At this point I could see where we are going to lose revenue, because it is a substandard park," she added.

Public Works staffers said winter rains that battered Orange County, including much of San Juan Capistrano, took a toll on the park. Grass seed was laid down at the ball field not long before the rains hit. The park flooded when San Juan Creek overflowed, washing away much of the seed that didn't have a chance to take root.

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The contractor waited until April 19 to lay more seeds, because it wanted to wait for the rainy season to end. "It will take some time to fully reestablish the turf," Cynthia Alexander, the commission's secretary, wrote in a report.

"It should be noted that the project was recently approved as complete. Final walk-through of the job site was on April 25," she explained. "Corrections required by the walk-through included the turf problems."

According to Alexander's report, the contract held with the construction company includes a one-year guarantee on all of the work it performed. "The contractor will be called back periodically to review the turf ... and corrective action [will be] taken as necessary."

City staffers said that via rental fees, the park generates about $5,000 a year in revenues for the Parks and Recreation Department. This year, however, that amount is down by about $3,000 as a result of the damage.

The Eastern Wells project included the installation of two new wells—one at Cooks Park near the Ortega Equestrian Center, the other at an old well site just north of La Novia Avenue. A transmission line was also built to carry the water from the wells to the city's Groundwater Recovery Plant on Paseo Adelanto. 

Along with water line improvements, well buildings that house the pumps, motors and electrical equipment were built.


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