A PARK IN PROGRESS: Vissing Park on track to open in March, Jeffersonville officials say

Clark County

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Laborer Matthew Sanders, of Louisville, with Complete Masonry, cuts concrete blocks to size while working on the new press box at Vissing Park in Jeffersonville on Thursday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Laborers with AML Inc. work on a retaining wall between the future sites of two softball fields at Vissing Park in Jeffersonville on Thursday afternoon. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer

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July 28, 2012

A PARK IN PROGRESS: Vissing Park on track to open in March, Jeffersonville officials say

By BRADEN LAMMERS braden.lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Sun Jul 29, 2012, 01:18 AM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — Although it may not yet be visible to area residents, work is progressing on Vissing Park in Jeffersonville, city officials say.

Jeffersonville Parks and Recreation Director Paul Northam said the bulk of the effort so far has taken place underground, with a lot of drainage and sewer work. He said it will likely be a month or so before people see a lot of work going on above ground.

It will be the first glimpse of major progress being made on a project — to construct two new softball fields, basketball courts, a restroom, shelters and concession area, walking trails and an open lawn area — that’s had its share of controversy.

PARK'S PAST

The park off 10th Street on the city’s northeast side has been a source of controversy since October 2010 when the city cleared 15 acres of trees in order to make room for the project. In addition to facing protests and potential lawsuits, the original project’s costs of between $1.2 to $2 million jumped by $2 million when it was set to break ground.

Jeffersonville had dedicated money to complete the work, but was faced with another hurdle when funding questions were raised following cuts that were made to the Jeffersonville Parks and Recreation Department’s capital projects budget. Although the actual work began in August 2011, the budget and manpower problems caused the project to be split into two phases.

Since the initial turmoil of getting the project off the ground and finding a funding source, Vissing Park has waded into smoother waters.

WHAT'S THE COST?

Despite the project at one point being split into two phases, it was bid as one project totaling $4.1 million and awarded to Floyds Knobs-based AML Inc. And although a specific dedicated funding source has yet to be identified, the city’s Redevelopment Commission and the Park’s Authority Advisory Board have agreed to fund it, Northam said.

Controller Monica Harmon said the Redevelopment Commission dedicated $1 million toward the park’s rehabilitation, while the remainder will come out of the parks department budget.

Northam said there was $750,000 dedicated toward Vissing Park in this year’s budget and that money is being used to fund the ongoing work. To-date, he said the parks department has used about half of the funding.

“We’ve got a couple months and we’ll still be OK,” he said.

Beyond the $750,000 that has been dedicated, the city is still looking for a source of funds to pay for the balance of the contract. Despite not knowing where that money will come from, city officials involved in the renovation project are not concerned.

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem to pay for it one way or another,” Northam said.

Harmon said the city will loan money from another city fund that has yet to be identified to pay for the project, but that the parks department will have to pay back the costs.

“Ultimately, parks will pay for it,” she said.

PLAN CHANGES AND PROGRESS

Northam said since the design from Kovert Hawkins Architects was adopted, there have been only minor changes to plans with no real change in the cost.

City Engineer Andy Crouch said the city is moving forward with everything in the project plans except for the dog park at this time. He explained that the city is working on another dog park off of Plank Road and officials are waiting to see how it functions before moving ahead with the dog park in Vissing Park.

Northam said the bulk of the work under way is being done on the south end of the park. He said the block construction for a maintenance building is up and that he expected it to be under roof by the end of next week. Contractors are still working on leveling the ball fields, water and irrigation systems are expected to take another four to six weeks and the block construction on a concession stand is set to go up soon, Northam said.

“The plan is under budget and ahead of schedule,” Crouch said.

But the park off of 10th Street is not the only project planned in the area.

In addition, Crouch said there are two other projects expected to get under way soon.

He said bids are on the agenda for the next Redevelopment Commission meeting for intersection improvements at Vissing Park Road and 10th Street. The project is set to break ground in September.

Along with the improvements to the intersection, a sidewalk is planned to run from 10th Street on Vissing Park Road and run back to the entrance of the park.

According to the city’s sidewalk masterplan, the estimated cost for the sidewalk project is $355,000. Crouch said work could begin on the project sometime this fall.