Commissioners back RFP to make Blue Earth Plaza water feature safer and usable

Aaron Stewart, Manhattan parks and recreation director, told the City Commission on April 20 that the Blue Earth Plaza’s shallow water feature was designed as a decorative water feature, not as a pool or splash pad, and that its current use presents safety and maintenance problems. The commission gave staff consensus to issue a request for proposals to pursue an interim renovation to reduce hazards and keep a playable water element available.

The issue matters because the feature has been used by children as a wading area and splash element, while the installation’s original materials and detailing have deteriorated. Stewart said Midwest Public Risk, the city’s insurer, concluded the feature’s “unintended use” and open water created a “significant drowning hazard,” and recommended either covering the feature or reducing depth and access. Stewart told commissioners the feature has exposed bolts, slippery stepping stones and glass pebbles that have required repairs and a river-bottom replacement to address fragmentation.

Staff proposed a two-step approach: an interim fix intended to last roughly five to seven years and a later permanent redesign. The interim design would infill the stream channel with 24-inch square pavers, remove the stepping stones and boulders, replace laminar jets with illuminated directional jets (less prone to wind failure), replace…