Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Cheryl Kross and Sonya Shryock questioned open-ended provisions in the contract that Kross called "an open pocketbook."
At last week's meeting of the Wentzville Board of Aldermen, the board voted to amend their contract with Gartenberg Construction Consulting for construction oversight of the Splash Station aquatic park project. The new contract reduces the city's costs from $87,000 to $80,000 because of a reduced scope of services. However, two additional contracts could push the limits of the contingency fund set for the project. The additional contracts were approved for two subcontractors—Waters Edge Aquatic Design and Jacobs Engineering—who had previously worked as subcontractors for Planning Design Services, the firm that was fired from the project. The new contracts mean the companies will now be contracted directly by the city and could add up to …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Building Commissioner Diane Bolderson had been with the city since 1998.
Diane Bolderson, Wentzville's building commissioner, was fired last week by the City of Wentzville and details surrounding her ouster remain unclear. Bolderson says her job was terminated because of her objection to a contract for Splash Station, an aquatic park that's part of Wentzville's massive Project Parks development. At least one member of the board of aldermen, though, says otherwise. "Her firing has nothing to do with Parks," said Alderman Sonya Shryock when Patch spoke with her Wednesday afternoon. Construction of Splash Station has been plagued by overruns caused by massive amounts of rock that were found during excavations. Bolderson's objections came on the heels of an out-of-the-ordinary decision made by newly hired City …
Friday, April 26, 2013
What is the plan to pay back a "significant" amount of money that was supposed to be earmarked for bond payments?
Last month, members of the Wentzville Board of Aldermen were surprised to find out that money generated from the 1/2 cent parks sales tax was not being kept in a separate fund. READ MORE: Aldermen Left 'Flabbergasted' Over Parks Fund Snafu On Wednesday night, the board asked for further discussion of the subject after approving a contract to outsource the city's pool management services and being asked to approve a $22,000 transfer from the general fund to cover those costs. READ MORE: City to Outsource Progress Park Pool Management, Lifeguards City Administrator Mike McDowell confirmed to the board that before the 2010 tax was passed, the city had transferred money from the general fund to cover parks operations. Ward 3 Alderman Rick …
Monday, April 15, 2013
Planning Design Studios, who had been with the project since its early beginnings, will no longer have oversight for the aquatic center's construction.
The construction of Wentzville's new aquatic park, Splash Station, has been a headache for the Board of Aldermen, with unexpected rock causing delays and cost overruns that have nearly depleted the project's contingency funds. READ MORE: Board Considers Options After Splash Station Overruns Top $190K The board has agonized over costs, reconsidered the original time frame for construction of all three parks projects and asked over and over who was to blame. Last Wednesday, the board made a big decision. They fired Planning Design Studio (PDS), the company who designed Splash Station and were charged with overview of the construction process. During time set aside for a Parks Project Update on the agenda, Public Works Director Doug Lee told …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Delays for removal of unexpected rock and weather issues will keep Splash Station from opening for the 2013 season.
Wentzville's new city administrator Mike McDowell sat in on his first meeting of the board of aldermen. The work session last Wednesday night had only two topics on the agenda, but they were big ones: the future of the city's special events and how to proceed with the city's massive parks construction project. Interim Public Works Director Doug Lee led the parks discussion with an update. He said that the Splash Station Aquatic Center had incurred no additional costs for rock excavation since his previous update, but work had been delayed because of weather. He said that risks had been identified that could add more cost overruns and that having that numbers fall within the amount left for contingency could be a "tight margin." Work is …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
A secret compartment hold's a burglar's stash; a Dodge Ram tangles with a backhoe and loses; a candidate for office learns never to say "AK-47" at city hall—these are the stories that caught the interest of Patch readers in January.
Man Caught with 30 Pounds of Marijuana Under Truck's Bed Cover, Deputy Says A St. Charles County Sheriff's deputy arrested Justin Hulet, of Denver, on Interstate 70 near Wentzville. After Hulet began trembling and stuttering, officers found 30 pounds of high-grade marijuana. Fox2 Video: Stolen Items Found in Secret Compartment in Lake Saint Louis Home Tracks led police to the home on Cannes Court. Board Considers Options After Splash Station Overruns Top $190K Geological surveys failed to show extent of rock "anomalies" found during excavation. Woman, 22, Charged With Statutory Rape of 15-Year-Old Boy A St. Charles County Sheriff's deputy said the woman confessed to two sexual acts with the underage teenager. Lake Saint Louis Man Stole …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Geological surveys failed to show extent of rock "anomalies" found during excavation.
At a special meeting of the Wentzville Board of Aldermen on Wednesday night, the board considered their options after hearing that the Splash Station aquatic park construction project had incurred $190,074 in cost overruns. That figure was a considerable increase from the $90,000 figure mentioned at their last meeting in December 2012 when the board was first informed that excavations had run into rock that hadn't been indicated in geological surveys. At that time, work continued and additional rock "anomalies" were found, Interim Public Works Director Doug Lee told the board, resulting in additional expenditures for a total of $190,074. After viewing photos of the excavations, City Attorney Paul Rost commented, "It doesn't appear to be an…
Friday, September 21, 2012
The Wentzville Board of Aldermen gave the go-ahead for construction to begin on Splash Station Aquatic Center.
The Wentzville Board of Aldermen chose local builder Demien Construction Company to build the city's long-awaited Splash Station Aquatic Center. Demien offered a base bid of $5,850,00, along with a five percent contingency ($292,500) to allow for overages. If the contingency monies are not used, the city has identified and ranked several alternative features that may be added to the facility: City documents note that "Rankings 1-10 were considered for safety, health, aesthetics, play value and ease of installation during initial construction." During discussion, Wentzville IT and Procurement Director Jerry Hillin suggested that the board consider including an independent engineering firm to perform periodic inspections during the …
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Plans for Splash Station, Heartland and Puruque Valley parks should be ready for bid this summer. Projected opening dates are in 2014.
Wentzville Park Board members heard a Project Parks update during their Monday meeting at city hall. Parks Director Mary Jo Dessieux gave updates on the three parks being developed: Splash Station, Heartland Park and Peruque Valley Park. Dessieux said the Wentzville School District staff members are looking into ways to convey seven acres of Peine Ridge Elementary School to Splash Station to the city. “In return, the city will enlarge their storm-water basin and utilize that for both sites and maintain it,” she said. The city also will build a road from Splash Station Aquatic Center parking lot to the school property. During bad weather, cars picking up children at the school stack up on Peine Road, Dessieux said. “There’s some safety …
38.815091
-90.856659
200 W Northview Ave, Wentzville, MO
/articles/project-parks-swimming-along-wentzille-director-tells-board
/locations/6525965
Monday, December 12, 2011
A public meeting is scheduled for Dec. 20.
Project Parks, the city of Wentzville's plan to add three new parks in coming years, is moving right along. Parks Director Mary Jo Dessiaux updated the park board about the improvements last week. The park board is slated to hold a joint meeting with the board of aldermen at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Wentzville City Hall. The public is invited to a presentation on the plans for the park, slated to be held on Dec. 20. Project Parks is funded by a 1/2 cent sales tax. It will add three new parks, including an aquatic center, in Wentzville. Updates are available regularly on the Project Parks Facebook page.
S Lopez
9:11 am on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Alderman Shryock is not making sense and this contract should have gone out to an open bid. Prior to this newest event to stop our parks, the Splash Station was scheduled to be completed in September 2013. Consequently Splash Station would not open until May 2014. Stating something was done "not by procedure" to keep the project moving is not true. Even if it was delayed several months to … more ›