Politics & Government
Free Dirt is too Expensive to Move for St. Charles Park
Parks and Recreation instead opts to use nearby hill as dirt source to build up all-inclusive playground.
Who knew moving free dirt was so expensive?
With plans calling for adding 11,000 cubic yards of dirt to create an all-inclusive playground at , the City of St. Charles was in informal talks to get the dirt free.
The dirt is needed to create terraced areas called for in the plans.
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The dirt donation would have come from the site of the former Noah’s Ark restaurant, where the Streets of St. Charles is being developed.
But when the city found out it would cost a $40,000 to move the dirt, it switched gears.
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“It was the drivers and the gas and the trucks,” Chris Atkinson, assistant parks director said after a special meeting of the St. Charles Parks and Recreation Board Wednesday evening.
“And the amounts of dirt we were talking about, too,” Parks and Recreation Director Maralee Britton said. That would be 500 truckloads.
Instead, the city is contracting with BAX Engineering Co. to survey a hill behind the playground site so crews can take dirt from it. The contract will not exceed $14,030.
“We’re trying to find ways not to spend $40,000,” Atkinson said.
Floods hit city parks
Britton reported city crews have been busy repairing damage done by flash flooding in late June that caused roads to close and families to evacuate.
Flash floods damaged several areas and facilities in city parks:
- A new retaining wall at Oak Grove Cemetery collapsed
- Bales Park and the trailhead at Eco Park were underwater
- The backside of a hill at Blanchette Park washed out
- The basement of Memorial Hall in Blanchette Park flooded
- Landscaping in several parks suffered damage.
“It was quite a major event that we had,” Britton said.
The city is tallying up the cost of repairs in case Federal Emergency Management Agency declares the event a disaster and reimburses the city.
Britton also announced that Tom Scott will retire next month as Blanchette Park foreman after 36 years in that position.
“We very much hate to see Tom go, but we realize your work life has a cycle, your career has a cycle,” she said.
The next Parks and Recreation Board meeting is a work session at 6 p.m. Aug. 3.