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Parks staff outline pavilion repairs and playground upgrade; FEMA sign-off may delay shade structure
Summary
Staff reported masonry column, bench and weld repairs at the Gillen Creek pavilion and a planned playground expansion that already won state accreditation; officials said some floodplain-related elements await FEMA (a 'Clomar') sign-off, which can take about a year.
Parks staff told the Deutsche Pestiary Committee that the Gillen Creek pavilion has received structural repairs and aesthetic upgrades, and that the adjacent playground is slated for further improvements but that some components require federal approvals.
"The benches, the picnic tables and masonry columns around the welded steel frames are new," Jeff O'Shea, assistant director for Parks and Recreation, said, describing recent repairs to protect weakened welds and extend the pavilion’s service life. Staff said the site will receive new benches and a façade refresh and that painting will wait until after summer camp programs finish.
On the playground, staff said the upgrade helped the site earn a national playground accreditation and an award at a state conference. However, larger planned shade structures and ground alterations involve work in the floodplain and require a "Clomar" approval process with FEMA and other agencies. "A Clomar normally takes a year to get through FEMA and all the places that have to approve those improvements," staff warned, so those features may not be in place by this year’s Deutschenfest even though council has approved the project and invoicing has occurred.
Staff said smaller ground-level replacements will proceed this summer and that the pavilion and playground improvements will be available for festival programming in future years once the federal approvals are complete.
The committee asked staff to coordinate with local American Legion groups and camps that use the pavilion; staff said the improvements will benefit both community events and regular park users.
