New rec facilities almost completed, but some problems had to be overcome
Walker Township's newly renovated recreational facilities, located next to the Township building, are nearly completed; however, according to Township engineer David Horst of Alfred Benesch, the project has had some complications.
"There are still some wet areas that we have concerns about," he said. "The first time they paved it, it wasn't the best job. We had a field meeting with the general contractor and the subcontractor. The subcontractor agreed to come in and put another top on what was already completed," he explained. The project included repaving the area that formerly housed two tennis courts. The area has been made over to include one tennis court and one basketball court. Horst said that the township will most likely need to wait until next spring to see how the blacktopped surface fares when it is under the hot sun."I think we're all aware that the right way to have built this would have been to rip it all out and to set the grades with a laser level, but that really wasn't in the budget," said Horst. "We tried to correct the grades where we could. Is it perfect? No. Is the surface improved? I think so." Horst also added that the general contractor, Womer Landscaping, Inc., would be purchasing a squeegee and roller for the township to use to help keep water from accumulating on the courts. He also explained that the township is covered by the project bid bond for one year after substantial completion of the project. "We'll revisit this again in the spring or early summer," he concluded.Supervisors also set a second budget meeting for November 19th, at 7:30 p.m. and agreed to purchase five road signs that indicate the operation of farm equipment in the area to be posted throughout the township. The signs cost $48 each. The supervisors voted to award Rush Printing the job of printing the new copies of the ESP zoning and subdivision ordinances. Township secretary/treasurer Suzanne Borzak received quotes from Staples and Office Depot for approximately $1,000 to print 20 copies of the books. Rush's bid was for $820. Supervisor David Price abstained from the vote. The supervisors also agreed to look into having a digital copy available for purchase.