MILL CREEK — No whistles have blown, but some are crying foul as the opening of the new Mill Creek Sports Park approaches three months past due.
The park — originally scheduled to open Sept. 1, then Sept. 28, then a few weeks after that — still is not done.
The latest estimate had it being completed by Thanksgiving Day, but last week’s storms may have pushed that back to the first week of December.
"It’s very frustrating," Mill Creek Mayor Terry Ryan said. "We were hoping to be able to play some Little League baseball games out there, then swing into soccer.
"I’m just really disappointed that it’s taken this long."
The $4.5 million park will feature an artificial turf baseball and softball field, a soccer field, a 10,000-square-foot skate park and parking for 33 vehicles. The fields will be ready for use sooner than the skate park because the concrete needs time to cure.
Some year-round soccer teams might be able to use the fields between now and March, when Little League baseball practices start and the park will see its first consistent use.
City engineer Doug Jacobsen said the delays have been caused by a variety of things, including subcontractors being unable to start one part of the job until another subcontractor finished a different part.
As an example, Jacobsen said the work on the AstroPlay artificial turf had to be done before the park fence could be installed.
"When the field folks were almost done, they had to go do some fields somewhere else because high school football games were about to be played on them," Jacobsen said.
"That pushes back the fence, which pushes back the sidewalk, which pushes back the asphalt parking lot, which pushes back the landscaping."
Jacobsen said there are provisions in the construction contract for recouping some costs because of time overruns. He said those discussions with the contractor will take place after the work is finally done.
"The important thing is we’re getting good quality work," Jacobsen noted. "And that park is going to be there forever."
City Councilwoman Donna Michelson agrees. While she’s curious about what’s holding it up, she’s more excited about the upcoming result.
"This is one of those projects that is going to make the city even greater than it already is," she said. "I don’t question the delays, as far as getting upset about it. Delays happen."
That might not be good enough for Ryan, who said he absolutely wants to look into getting some money back as a result of the delay. But even that won’t make up for the lost time, he said.
"We can talk about the monetary aspect all we want," he said. "But I’m frustrated because Silver Lake Soccer was excited about using that field. How do you measure that?"
Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
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