Dog Park Project Update Addresses Standing Water and Delays

When the topic of a dog park in College Hills came up in 2014, many people had varying opinions, but as the new trails and walkways have slowly emerged, many people in the area want to know when the park will be finalized, and what’s being done about the standing water in the area.

Because of all the questions surrounding the project, City Council Member Rodney Fleming, Single-Member District 1, asked City Engineer Russell Pehl to provide an update at last week’s City Council Regular Agenda Meeting.

Construction on the dog park and trails in the area began in November 2014, and the scheduled completed date should have been November 2015, but at this time, the project is approximately 85 percent complete, said Pehl.  

Pehl said, thus far, the contractor is currently working on the new restroom facilities near Unidad park. He also showed images of a bridge near Sul Ross Avenue that’s been completed.

“Currently, all the trail portions are completed,” Pehl explained.

He added that seven of the eight trail heads have also been completed. The one that’s remaining includes a construction entrance, so the City doesn’t want “to drive over the trail.” However, all portions of the bridges are completed, as well as all parking lots.

Additionally, Pehl added, “Five ponds are 95 percent complete.”

Also, two storm water ponds are 80 percent complete and restrooms are 65 percent complete. Amenities are all completed, and benches along the trail are all installed, Pehl stated. Final grading won’t be completed until ponds are completed, which is at 90 percent.

Pehl also said the builders will come back in and see the entire area that’s been disturbed, and will plant grass so that everything is brought back to its natural vegetation.

Councilwoman Charlote Farmer, SMD6, asked Pehl if it’s possible to seed some of the wildflowers for beautification purposes as opposed to just grass.

“Yes, that’s something we can look at,” Pehl responded. “If there’s any additional funds, we’ll have to work with TxDOT and the contractor on that.”

Pehl noted that there are areas being looked at for seeding.

Carl White, director of Parks and Recreation, also reviewed the estimates for the improvements of the walkways, fences, drinking fountains, benches, tables and trees that they’ll plant, and obstacles that the fundraisers want to include as part of the dog park.

He reiterated that $66,000 comes from private funds and $12,000 comes from CoSADC, for a total of $78,000 for the dog park. The Red Arroyo project, however, has a financial impact of $3,999,140.

“Our intentions are to begin the project shortly after the contractors [have] been released from the trail construction project,” said White.

Additionally, White addressed the water sitting in the areas where the dog parks will be constructed.

“Of course, we’ll do some drainage work so the water doesn’t sit in the dog park areas once it’s complete,” he said.

White also explained the dog parks are in the floodways of the Red Arroyo, so it’s good if there are occasional floods because that means San Angelo is getting rain.

“It also means the grass will stay fairly green without irrigation, so that’s a good thing,” he said.

White told council members he estimates two months for construction of the dog park project to begin.

“It’s really hinging off the contractor’s release from the project,” White said. “We’re in the process now of getting all the specifications and the design work done, so we’ll be ready to build shortly after.”

Fleming brought up the water drainage in the small dog park area that’s coming off the parking lot and going right through the middle of it.

“It looks like they poured some concrete out there the other day that they messed up, and I don’t know what they did,” he told White. “I think you’re going to have to go back in there and rip it all out.”

He also said, when the City had this plan in place, he didn’t think the original plan was to include that drain there.

“I’m pretty sure they didn’t because that parking lot that flooded was holding all that water at the bottom of that parking lot, and they had to figure out how to get rid of [it],” Fleming said. 

White told Fleming contractors attempted to clear that area of the standing water, but they have to work around it.

Fleming also said it hasn’t rained recently, but yet there’s water still standing in that area

“There was, last weekend, some water sitting right there,” White said. “But, right where the water is sitting now, it’s right outside the large dog park area; but as I said, we’ll improve some drainage so that we’ll get the water to run into the Red Arroyo. We’re not going to let it sit there. It’s not going to be water that’s there all the time.”

White added that the drain will run the water, and they just have to work around it. The drain isn’t that large.

Fleming also asked why the contractors didn’t build toward where the natural flow was.

Pehl said the problem with building in the floodplain floodway has to do with FEMA requirements. The contractor had to mitigate for any improvements made, so they had to be able to offset that flow.

“It’s more of a mass balance,” Pehl said. “We brought in a lot of field with these bridges and trails, and so these ponds are counterbalancing that per Fema requirements.”

Fleming said that’s what he wants the public to understand. There are requirements associated with this project.

Pehl said the drainage in the parking lot was originally designed to drain in the right direction, but the contractor chose not to install the drain going to the Arroyo until now

“If it was me, I would have built that first, so it wouldn’t flood; but anyway, we can’t give them means and methods,” he noted.

Pehl said another option is the ponds can be drained dry and the contractor can let it dry out for a couple of weeks so they can move forward with construction. However, the contractor mentioned they are working with TxDOT on potentially doing it, so that’s why Pehl brought the information before the council.

Fleming told Pehl although he understands the issues the contractor and City is facing, he said, “We need to get this thing done. We have lots of people who want to use this park, especially this summer. What I was getting at is, if we don’t release [the contractor] until the summer, and we take two months to build the dog park, well it will be after summertime before anyone can use the dog park.”

Pehl clarified that the penalty for the contractor going over the terms of the contract is $970 per day. The City doesn’t pay the contractor that amount per day. Also, if that continues, the contractor will owe the City money. He also said because the contract is through TxDOT, the City has no control of the moneys. Pehl can only advise the contractor, but at the end of the day, TxDOT deals with the financial aspect of things.

“But it’s all of our dollars,” Fleming said. “We all pay for TxDOT.”

Fleming said he wanted this update brought forward so people can know what is going on with the process. Council members have all clarified they have received many phone calls about the water and pile up of dirt as well in the area. Overall, they want to know why the park is not finished.

“They just want it to finish. They’re excited,” said Farmer.

“We’re all very excited about it,” said Pehl. “It’s going to be a neat project, and they’re doing a good job. There’s just some timing issues that have been a problem.”

Grindstaff, who emphasized she wasn’t a big dog park supporter, said she wanted to know more about the trails. She wanted to know if there was a bigger plan for where the concrete trail meets Sherwood.

“It literally meets the back curb of Sherwood, right?” she asked Pehl. “How does a pedestrian interface with that point of contact because it’s so many feet from the intersection?”

Pehl said the overall master plan is to have a sidewalk that will continue all the way around San Angelo; and at some point, the City will continue on with that sidewalk to make a continuous loop around the city.