AGENDA #4d

 

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

 

TO:                  W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

FROM:            Kathryn Spatz, Director of Parks and Recreation

 

SUBJECT:       Issues Related to the Hargraves Park Basketball Court

 

DATE:             April 2, 2003   

 

 

At the Council’s February 19, 2003 meeting with the Parks and Recreation Commission a Council member asked when the outside basketball court at Northside Gymnasium would be resurfaced and if the contractor who constructed the court could be required to fix the problem.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The outdoor basketball court was constructed as part of the Northside Gymnasium project and was completed in 1998. At that time we noted that the court held excessive amounts of water. The contractor partially resurfaced the court on two occasions prior to Town acceptance of the project. After the second resurfacing the project architect ruled that the court met contract specifications. We believe that there is no legal basis for requiring the contractor to fix any deficiencies in the court because the architect approved the work and the entire project had only a one-year warranty.

 

We originally included funding for resurfacing the Hargraves Park basketball court in the FY 2002-03 Capital Improvement Program budget. This project was part of a proposed Tennis and Basketball Court Renovation Project. Because of the State’s budget crisis and the subsequent withholding of Town funds the court renovation project was cancelled for this year. We propose that the Council consider funding the renovation project, including the Hargraves Park basketball court resurfacing, in FY 2003-04 as part of the Capital Improvement Program budget.

 

We believe that it is also important to note that although we believe we can improve the situation at Hargraves Park the court would likely retain some water even after resurfacing. Basketball courts typically have very slight slopes, usually about 1%. It is difficult to achieve a smooth and even asphalt surface that has both reasonable slopes for play and good drainage of water. We note that all of our outdoor courts have some water retainage after rainfall. Indeed it is common for operators of outdoor courts to have a squeegee as a standard piece of equipment to remove rainwater. It is easier to attain the balance between proper slope for play and drainage with concrete surfaces. However, the cost of concrete surfaces tend to be higher. In addition, concrete surfaces are harder on players’ legs and knees.