The Ames City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to share a report by the general contractor of the Steven L. Schainker Plaza construction project after hearing from Keith Abraham, the director of parks and recreation.
Abraham reported to council members on the status of the plaza after issues with the concrete were found in February and assessed in July by a concrete expert.
The plaza was scheduled to be finished by June 30, 2023, but remains unfinished.
Issues found
During a city council meeting July 9, council members were provided an update on the status of the plaza after deficiencies were found by City of Ames representatives in February.
After the meeting, a concrete expert was hired by the city to assess the deficiencies found.
The following issues were reported by the expert:
- Inconsistent finish
- Cracks
- Rough finish in areas
- Rippled surface with peaks and valleys in some areas
- Bird baths
- Stone pop outs
- Voids on surface
- One dasher board anchor at an angle and protruding above the concrete
- Wire mesh protruding through surface and corrosion
In response to the city expert’s report, Mark Lambert, the city attorney, sent a letter to Henkel Construction indicating that the City of Ames “does not see adequate progress towards meeting this deadline” and asked for Henkel’s assurances of meeting an Oct. 1 deadline.
Henkel responded with an email to the city outlining its engineer’s investigation of the issues and outlined four options for the city to remedy the deficiencies. A copy of the engineers report can be found here.
According to the action form provided to members Tuesday, the city of Ames is in agreement with both Confluence, the project lead, and Henkel Construction, the general contractor, that the “current ice-skating ribbon surface is ‘unacceptable’ and does not meet the quality standards that residents expect from city facilities.”
Recommended action
Abraham reported to the members that it was the recommendation of the city manager, Steven L. Schainker, for the council to direct staff to share Henkel’s engineer’s investigation and evaluation report with the city’s consultant for review. This was one of three alternatives proposed to council members.
Other alternatives:
- Select one of four options outlined by Henkel’s engineer to remedy issues found with no cost to the city.
- Reject options by Henkel’s engineer and direct Henkel to remove and replace the entire ice skating rink.
Action taken
The council voted unanimously to adhere to the recommendations of the city manager. Ward 2 Rep. Tim Gartin spoke on his opinion of this decision:
“Our main concern should be on the final product,” Gartin said. “We want this thing to look nice and not look like it was patched together.”
Abraham also shared his thoughts on the action taken by the council.
“This is a priority for city council, it’s a priority for staff, it’s a priority for Henkel, it’s a priority for everybody,” Abraham said. “We want to get this accomplished. […] We do what we can to make things happen as quickly as we can.”
