Work to install a synthetic field at Blackburn Park will soon begin, but will not be completed this year as planned.
In an update on the Blackburn Park Synthetic Field Project, shared at the Aug. 26 city council meeting, roads and parks manager Darin Gerow explained the initial goal was to have it completed this fall. Instead, the project will be completed in phases, with the first, to be completed this year, involving the removal of existing fill and replacing it with material suitable for a synthetic turf field.
The second phase, the construction/installation of the field, will be completed next spring subject to weather and contractor availability.
Gerow explained dividing of the work into two phases was deemed the best strategy to mitigate geotechnical risks related to the existing fill. He said it has "organics in it which can break down and actually settle over time – on a synthetic field, the differential settlement could create hazards on the field."
Council also supported a memorandum of understand between the city and the Shuswap Youth Soccer Association (SYSA), which is contributing $300,000 towards the project. With $700,000 budgeted by the city, the end result is to be a multi-use sports field that will be accessible at times of the year when grass fields are closed due to weather. According to the memorandum, should there be cost-overruns, the city and SYSA would meet to determine a "best path forward."
Asked about environmental concerns, particularly around extreme summer heat, Gerow said it would be a very minor concern according to the "sales people."
"Your comment, that sales people are telling us what they want us to hear, is kind of what I’d expect out of sales people, but hopefully there’s been some sort of independent information," replied Coun. Sylvia Lindgren. "I know one of the concerns… was that in the extreme heats that we get now, the stuff gets really soft and melts into their shoes. So that will increase the impact both in damage to the field…hopefully they’re mitigating for that."
The city has also been working closely with Franklin Engineering on the project. Jayme Franklin, who is also the SYSA chair, told the Observer in May that existing fill needed to come out.
“That fill all has to come out because it’s garbage – you can’t build on it, so we actually have to remove it and bring in structural fill…,” said Franklin.
For the replacement material, Gerow explained the city would be able to provide pit-run gravel "at our cost, which is very reasonable" from the city's gravel pit.
