Council adjusts splash pad plans

At a workshop last week, HDR Engineering's Heath Turbiville shared a computer-generated (CG) depiction of a potential design modification to the splash pad at Noonan Park upon which Moorcroft's council is currently focusing its attention.

During a recent compaction test, Advanced Geo-Tech Solutions found the ground at Noonan Park to be unstable. The crew drilled approximately 16 feet to measure the potential density of the soil before planning the installation of pipes and concrete.

With this discovery, the engineers approached the suppliers of the water features for the splash pad and Geo-Tech to discuss options.

"I think," Turbiville said to the council, "We have come up with something that may fit at least better than what we were initially talking about."

When the group had first talked about pouring the concrete foundation, they considered one large pad. However, according to Turbiville, "If we broke it up into three pads so we were dealing with smaller areas of concrete, that would help with the breaking up of the concrete. That was an option that everybody thought would help us out."

Another recommendation is to lay either concrete or another viable material between the feature slabs to move independently.

"If something breaks up, we're dealing with smaller areas that we can pull out a panel and replace it or do something like that...and you have less risk of future maintenance problems by splitting up the pad," continued the engineer.

Another aspect Geo-Tech suggested is a membrane and six inches of rock to facilitate drainage beneath the walkways between.

Mayor Ben Glenn questioned the depth of six inches due to the effects of frost.

"Would it help us, though, to go deeper with that and have a deeper frost-free zone because clean rock is not susceptible to frost, is it?" he asked.

Clean rock describes rock or gravel that has, literally, been washed, removing all particles, and is often used for drainage, road base and landscaping.

Turbiville concurred that clean rock is not susceptible to frost, saying, "The purpose of the smaller section of rock and then the membrane is to shed what's coming from the top and then you're dealing with changes underground...though the rock isn't susceptible to freezing, the water that's in it is."

The mayor, who suggested approximately 30 inches of clean rock, explained his thoughts on the matter.

"Given the elevation that we're sitting on up there, I believe we could easily manipulate a drain to that, couldn't we? The elevation would allow that. I'm just trying to cover all the bases in the very beginning so if we can eliminate it by buying a little more rock and error on that side, so to speak...it just seems like a little added protection...If we could get it so it didn't have to be so susceptible to frost, it would help with some of our movement, I think."

Public Works Director Cory Allison agreed, reminding the council of the effectiveness of the French drain installed beneath the artificial turf in the lower baseball field at Westview Park.

These suggestions do not address the issues of pipes beneath the ground, but the engineer is continuing to search for answers.

Turbiville assured the governing body that, though a bit higher than the least expensive alternative, the overall cost will still be within the budget with a total cost of $495,000 with 50% grant match by the town, according to Glenn, of $253,000.

While the council had hoped to have the splash pad constructed and open before Jubilee, Turbiville told them, "I don't think there's any way they can get it constructed by when you wanted it, but I think it can be constructed this summer." According to the rules regarding the grant, all funds must be expended by 2025.