The splash pad at Bird Park in Kankakee was supposed to be open by now.
Instead, it appears to have wilted under the hot, humid conditions that have hit the area.
At Monday’s meeting of the Kankakee Valley Park District board, Executive Director Ross Bruni explained to the commissioners that the splash pad remains closed.
As part of a $1.2 million renovation of Bird Park, the splash pad, which has been unusable for several years, was getting refurbished.
Instead, Bruni said during a recent inspection of the splash pad’s concrete pad by the project’s general contractor, it was discovered that no rebar had been used.
Rebar, short for reinforcing bar, is a steel bar used to strengthen concrete and masonry structures. It is found in most concrete pours.
“Basically, [the construction company] may have skipped a step as far as the production goes,” Bruni said.
On Wednesday, Bruni said all three parties would meet to see how things move forward.
KVPD Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds Rick Collins said the company said it would compensate for the error.
That fact did not sit well with Board President Dave Skelly.
He mentioned the troubles the district had with its water recreation facility, Splash Valley, several years ago, after it was constructed.
“Ten years later, the concrete goes south, the construction company’s out of business, and we’ve got nobody to go back to,” Skelly said.
“This sounds to me like we’re in line for that kind of deal [again], where if the concrete wasn’t properly poured, it doesn’t have the proper support, is there an issue of having that kind of failure down the road and then having nobody to come back on? And we look like idiots again because we’ve got a project that fell apart.”
Bruni said they will know where things stand after Wednesday’s meeting.
Earlier problems with the splash pad project were related to water.
The dedication for the splash pad and other parts of the project has yet to be held, although all other parts of the project are complete.
The dedication has been postponed twice already.
“I was expecting the kids to be out there splashing. We all did,” Bruni said after the meeting.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that Wednesday won’t be as bad as it possibly could be. But we’re keeping all of our options open to see exactly what’s going to start to happen.”