Park board approves structural assessment of Elliott Park viewing tower

The Elkhart Parks and Recreation Board unanimously approved contracting JPR to perform a structural analysis of the observation (watch) tower at Elliott Park, Superintendent Jamieson Czarnecki told the board. The assessment will determine whether the tower is structurally safe or requires modifications before the park reopens in a special-use capacity.

The agreement covers a site evaluation and a written report. "Up before you is the agreement to do a structural analysis for the watchtower or the viewing tower...we wanna make sure that it's structurally safe or if we know that it's not safe and we need to adjust," Jamieson Czarnecki said when introducing the item. Board members moved and seconded the proposal and recorded an affirmative vote.

Czarnecki said the department expected JPR to begin work as soon as the board approved the proposal; because of very cold weather the start was pushed to the following week when temperatures improved. The consultant previously performed structural assessments of pavilions for the department, Czarnecki noted.

Discussion items recorded in the meeting included timing of the assessment and the department’s plan to use the report to guide next steps on reopening Elliott Park as a special-use park. The board did not take any final action on repairs or removal at this meeting; the action recorded was approval of the assessment contract only.

The contract approval was recorded as a motion, a second and a unanimous affirmative vote. No cost detail for the JPR scope was presented on the record at the meeting.

The structural analysis report will be a factual basis for later decisions about repair, removal, or reopening; the board directed staff to proceed with the assessment and return with findings at a future meeting.