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Raymond
Street Park Still Not Open to Public
Little league
season is in full swing, but the park featuring a junior baseball diamond
remains closed after continued construction delays
By
Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin Staff Writer
COMPTON – In
the thick of baseball season, the city’s little league park is
still not open to the public, and renovations there are now more than
six months past schedule.
Raymond Street Park has been under construction and closed to the public
for nearly two years and was supposed to be reopened to the public
last fall.
Earlier this year, Deputy Director of Public Works Charles Nelson alluded
that the park would be open in time for little league season. However,
with summer just around the corner, the city’s little leaguers
still have no place to play.
Nelson, who was hired by the city in 2006, said last Thursday that
the contractor ran into additional problems recently that have further
delayed the opening of the 2.5-acre park.
Problems with the existing irrigation system as well as the bathroom
structure recently detected by the city’s Building and Safety
Department have warranted additional attention and pushed back the
estimated opening date – again.
Base Architecture was hired in September 2006 to renovate the restrooms,
replace play structures and lighting fixtures, build a new concessions
stand and landscape the 3rd District park.
The city in 2005 received a nearly $336,000 grant from the Los Angeles
County Regional Park and Open Space District to renovate the park located
in Richland Farms.
The project from the start has been plagued by delays, the latest of
which involved the city’s admitting to fumbling the initial inspection
process completed in 2005.
Nelson said that the recently detected problems with the irrigation
system and bathrooms likely stem from substandard work completed either
when the park was first built or the last time the park was renovated.
He could not speak to why these latest issues were not detected during
the initial inspection process, as he was not working for the city
at that time.
Specifically in the bathrooms, he said there are issues with the sewer
connection, roof, ventilation system and rebar in the walls.
The problems are actively being corrected, and Nelson estimated that
it will be at least another two months before the park is open.
“We could have it completed now, but the work would have been
substandard, and that is not what I’m about,” he said. “Mrs.
Arceneaux has waited for a number of years, and certainly we don’t
want to give her a substandard park.”
The City Council in January approved construction change orders in
the amount of roughly $117,000 after City Manager Charles Evans admitted
the city had “dropped the ball” with the renovations.
According to Evans, the Building and Safety Department was not included
during initial inspections conducted in 2005 to determine what work
would be completed at the park. Once it was brought on board, additional
upgrades not included in the original project scope were identified.
Initially overlooked were ADA requirements and other specific changes
required by Building and Safety. Additionally, it was determined that
the bleachers and batter’s benches needed to be replaced and
the picnic table concrete pads removed.
As of last week, the park sat in a state of incompletion. New fencing
had been installed around the junior baseball diamond. However, the
entire park was still dirt – no grass had been planted, and no
bleachers were present.
Nelson said grass cannot be planted until the irrigation flaws are
corrected.
A Richland Farms resident who lives directly across the street said
last Tuesday that construction had been at a stand still for several
days before picking back up last week.
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