Construction on the new recreation center at Helms South remains on schedule as the $14 million project inches toward its targeted September 2020 completion.
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ROCHELLE — Construction on the new recreation center at Helms South remains on schedule as the $14 million project inches toward its targeted September 2020 completion.
Megan Simon, project manager at Ringland-Johnson Construction, addressed the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Board of Commissioners during its monthly meeting at Rochelle City Hall on Monday. Simon revealed that precast work in the swimming area should be complete by Wednesday, with detailing work beginning soon after.
Simon also said that work is continuing on the metal roof deck above the community area, with the roof deck above the swimming pool coming this week as well. The next three weeks will include work on the east side of the fieldhouse area, and workers will leave an opening on the south side of the building so the swimming pool can be dug out.
“We’re through the first round of the IDPH permitting process,” Simon said. “We submitted our swimming pool drawings to the IDPH in October and we got their comments back last week… We’ll be continuing outside and hopefully getting dried in on the swimming pool, community center and fieldhouse. We’ll then be prepping to get some temporary power out there so we can start working inside, and we’ll be pouring slabs by April and working on interior walls.”
Skare Park
Randy Vogel, senior ecologist with Land and Water Resources, also spoke during Monday’s meeting to give commissioners an update on the Skare Park Mitigation Project, which started in mid-2018 and stems from the Skare Park Restoration Master Plan developed in 2013. The mitigation, completed near the end of 2018, aimed to restore more than 50 acres of the site including Deer Creek, which traverses from east to west.
“I was dreading going out there after it was over because of the flooding we had after we completed the project, but there was virtually no damage from the floods when I went out there,” Vogel said. “That tells me the design and construction was sound and the stabilization was done properly… I’m absolutely thrilled with the progress we’ve been making out there, and the community’s response has been tremendous. Regulators are equally thrilled.”
Old business
The board approved its monthly payment to Ringland-Johnson Construction as well as an ordinance providing for the issue of $1.1 million in general obligation park bonds for use to improve and maintain current park district facilities.
