Friends of Forks Pond, residents urge fixes for path erosion and lawn problems; ask city to enforce contractor warranties and add meeting MP3s

Jim Hausman, president of the Friends of Forks Pond, and Beth Hausman, a volunteer and neighbor, told the council the newly constructed walking path and playground lawn at Forks Pond Community Park are suffering flooding, erosion and poor turf installation that, they said, reflect contractor failures and insufficient corrective action.

“During this six-week period, public works employees regularly drove through the flooding sections of the path during their nearly daily patrols, and no preventative action was taken,” Jim Hausman said. He told the council public-works staff later installed riprap on two sections and lowered the pond’s elevation on the levee’s south side, but he said other southeast and west sections remain flooded and are eroding because of improper contouring, drainage and lack of culverts. He asked the council to direct city staff to consult the city attorney about holding contractors accountable before warranty expiration.

Beth Hausman described a poorly prepared lawn area at the playground that was not leveled, compacted or pretreated for weeds, leaving what she called an “unsafe tripping hazard” and a likely barrier to volunteers running events on the site. The Friends group said designers had specified a larger lawn area at the park but the finished product does not meet the contract deliverables. Beth Hausman asked whether the lawn would be properly leveled and reseeded as required under the construction contract.

Speakers also requested that the city post MP3 versions of meeting recordings on the city website for easier access on mobile phones, and asked the council to consider prohibiting smoking in the park and adjacent parking areas because of secondhand smoke and fire risk during dry weather.

City staff said public works had taken interim measures, such as riprap installation and lowering pond elevation, and that some repairs remained under the responsibility of contractors. The Friends requested the city pursue warranty remedies and contractor accountability to protect the city’s investment and to complete the work to the contract standard.

No formal action was taken during the council meeting on the Friends’ requests; the matters were presented as public comment and for the council’s consideration. Councilors acknowledged the complaints and thanked volunteers for their work. The council did not set a timetable for any contractor enforcement action during the meeting but the Friends asked that the city attorney be consulted promptly so warranty time frames are preserved.