Park project advances; playground net under warranty but replacement part backordered; small grants repurposed for library pollinator programming

City Administrator Brianna said demolition for the park project is complete, contractors have framed major structures and are laying base material, and staff are focused on securing poured concrete sections to keep the public out while curing.

"Demolition is complete. I saw today that they have framed like the whole thing ... it's chugging right along," Brianna said. She added that staff are pressing contractors to schedule pours and barriers to limit access so newly poured concrete will cure without damage.

Brianna also briefed council about a broken climbing-net piece in the playground. The vendor acknowledged warranty coverage, but the replacement is custom-made and expected to take 10 to 12 weeks to arrive; staff are evaluating keeping a spare part on hand in future procurement.

On grants and library programming, Brianna said a small community grant that was marketed as $5,000 ended up being split across multiple winners, so staff repurposed the city's application toward pollinator-garden programming at the library and applied for other small grants for rubberized surfacing and the annual summer-reading program; Caitlyn will take lead on some of the library grant work. A rotating art exhibit by preschool and kindergarten classes is planned for October.