Remediation work on the Smith Sports Complex at Fort Lewis College could start in June, now that a financial agreement has been reached between the city and FCI Constructors, the contractor that built the facility.
The $4.4 million complex was finished in 2012, but it has stood empty because the fields are uneven, rocky and unsafe, said Cathy Metz, parks and recreation director.
To create playable soil, it will take just less than $1.4 million, she said.
A new subcontractor will likely start in June and scrape the top 6 inches of top soil, screen it and add sand and fertilizer to improve the health of the soil.
The city has agreed to pay about $900,000, and FCI Constructors will pay $450,000. Fort Lewis College, one of the original donors involved in the project has also agreed to contribute $75,000 for sod, so the complex can open in spring 2016.
The Durango City Council must still sign off on the expenditure before work can start.
If the city had opted to reseed the complex, it would have been cheaper, but the complex would not have been ready to open until the fall of 2016. FLC was interested in seeing the complex open sooner, Metz said.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board voted Wednesday to recommend spending money from the Open Space, Parks and Trails Fund on the complex.
The city will likely spend a chunk of the $2 million that had been set aside to build a new parks maintenance building. The construction of the new shop at Greenmount Cemetery has been put on hold until the current buildings can be evaluated as part of the city’s facilities master plan, Metz said.
Only one board member, Frank Viehmann, abstained from the vote because he said he didn’t know enough about the issue. But several board members questioned the settlement, before coming to a consensus.
“It shocks me we’re talking about $900,000 to go back in, to fix this thing. ... I’m appreciative to the community for allowing us to do this, and frankly I’m a little embarrassed,” said Peter Schertz, a board member.
The city agreed to cover the parts of the remediation, such as the sand, that were not in the original contract, Metz said. She told the board that the city did not build in stringent-enough soil requirements.
“We knew there was a lot of clay and a lot of construction-dumping over there,” she said.
However, the previous subcontractor also had seeded the fields without the city’s approval and promised to make the fields playable using a top-down strategy that included aeration and rock removal, she said. But this has failed.
Since 2012, FCI Constructors has been in friendly talks with the city, and the city’s attorney recommended negotiating outside of court to reach a conclusion more quickly, Metz said in response to a question about litigation.
The city also has consulted with outside experts about the new strategy for the turf.
“A lot of eyes are on this project to make sure we don’t misstep on the renovation,” she said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
