Pilot Knoll Park: city staff outline water, sewer and accessibility needs; engineering quotes vary

Council members received a detailed update July 22 on infrastructure and program needs at Pilot Knoll Park, including staff presentations on recurring maintenance, flood exposure and preliminary engineering estimates for sewer and water work tied both to the park—s current operations and to an optional cabin project.

What staff reported

- Maintenance history: staff presented work-order data for the water and sewer systems at Pilot Knoll covering recent years. The work-order counts in the record were modest (two dozen or fewer entries across several years for water and sewer repairs), but staff cautioned that the work-order system does not capture every overtime, rental or ancillary cost associated with repeated repairs and flood-related remediation.

- Core near-term needs: staff said continuing park operations would require replacing an aging 2-inch water line that serves park facilities, replacing the existing septic system that serves the RV restrooms/showers and the dump station, improving the gatehouse to meet workplace-safety and ADA expectations, repairing or replacing shelter roofs and improving pavilion accessibility and parking layouts.

- Boat-ramp and access work: staff recommended moving electrical out of flood-prone poles, adding targeted lighting (including solar options), improving the courtesy dock to accommodate moderate lake-elevation changes and adding an ADA accessible non-motorized watercraft (kayak/canoe) launch with dedicated accessible parking.

Engineering and cost indications

Staff shared a firm—s preliminary engineering quote (KBC Engineering, as presented to staff) for three septic-system projects: an RV restroom/dump station system, a gatehouse system, and cabin-associated septic design. The engineering and construction cost figures given in the presentation were presented as preliminary, experience-based ranges rather than final estimates:

- KBC-style estimate (example): engineering fees and build-cost ranges were shown; staff summarized an illustrative total of about $375,000 if all three septic/system upgrades were done together (staff described this as an experience-based, preliminary rule-of-thumb figure). Staff also presented an example figure of about $265,000 to replace the park—s existing sewer system to support current operations (that figure was described in the meeting as an approximate or "educated guess" that will require full engineering to confirm).

Council discussion and requests

Council members pressed staff for more empirical, drilled-out cost history and asked why the number of logged work orders appeared low relative to the size of the proposed investment. Several councilmembers requested staff return with clearer documentation of overtime costs, rental equipment charges and multi-year maintenance totals to justify capital replacement or larger investment.

Floodplain and environmental exposure

Staff acknowledged that portions of the park infrastructure sit in a floodplain and that rising lake levels can expose and stress utility lines; staff described instances in which exposed lines required repeat attention after water receded. Staff said the park—s septic systems were currently certified under existing county requirements but that older buried components and leach fields in the lakeshore area make long-term planning and a full engineering study necessary.

Next steps

Staff said it will pursue more detailed engineering scopes, reference checks for the quoted engineering firm, and a site-level soil and design study to firm up costs. Council asked that staff separate: (a) the minimum work required to keep the park operating safely, (b) enhancements that would improve programming and accessibility (for example ADA launches and new courtesy docks), and (c) the additional incremental costs if cabins are added to the park program. Council also requested clearer breakout of historic overtime and work-order costs related to recurring repairs.

Ending

Staff presented preliminary, professional-estimate ranges but council did not authorize construction. Council directed staff to return with full, engineered cost estimates and clarified lists of required versus optional work before any decisions on cabins or larger capital projects.