Centennial Park – Update to Council prior to Public

THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF SARNIA
People Serving People
ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
OPEN SESSION REPORT
TO:
Mayor Bradley and Members of Sarnia City Council
FROM:
J.P. André Morin, P.Eng. City Engineer
DATE:
March 14, 2014
SUBJECT:
Centennial Park – Update to Council prior to Public Engagement
Recommendation:
It is recommended:
1. That Sarnia City Council receives the remediation strategy plan and
park concept plans for the remediation of Centennial Park and releases
the plans for public review and comment through the public
engagement process.
Background:
The Centennial Park Remedial Action Plan Committee (CPRAPC) consists of
City staff members from the Engineering Department, Planning and Building
Department, Parks and Recreation Department, the Finance Department, the
City Manager, representatives from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment,
and the Lambton Public Health Department (Medical Officer of Health). The
Ontario Ministry of Labour will become involved during the construction of
the remediation measures.
The CPRAPC has been working diligently over the past several months to
determine the most financially responsible and community oriented strategy
to remediate Centennial Park. The proposed strategy for remediating the
site has been developed in conformance with the recommendations of the
Risk Assessment prepared by Golder Associates, and two concept plans have
been developed for the restoration of the surface level features. An RFP has
been issued for retaining a Qualified Person to prepare a Health and Safety
Plan for on-site activities and an Environmental Management Plan for the
safe handling of materials. Public engagement is the next major activity to
be undertaken and will seek comments on the alternative concept plans as a
key step towards finalizing the features of the restored park. Final design,
tendering and construction will follow.
Results of the public engagement and the finalized concept plan will be
presented to Council on May 5, 2014. Timelines are very tight and it is
essential to the success of the project and the initial removal of fencing from
the park this summer that a concept plan be accepted at the May 5 meeting.
Upon finalization of the concept plan, the remedial action plan and the
financial plan will be finalized and presented to Council on June 30.
Incorporated into these plans will be the construction phasing as developed
by the CPRAPC. The phasing will be based on the logistics of minimizing
offsite disposal of materials while recognizing the financial resources
available to the project.
Comments:
The CPRAPC has reviewed the findings of the various reports prepared by
Golder Associates that study and analyze the characteristics of the
contamination found in the soil. Staff has also reviewed the Risk Mitigation
Measures outlined in the Risk Assessment report and developed a
generalized remediation strategy plan as a guide for Centennial Park
Remediation as a whole.
Park Remediation Approach
The generalized remediation strategy is attached to this report and includes:
•
•
•
•
•
Placement of a geotextile layer/fabric with 0.5 metres of clean soil
above. This is the strategy expected to be used for the majority of the
grassed areas in the northern portion of the park.
Construction of new berms to locate excavated contaminated soil
onsite rather than trucking it away. Also considered were
improvements to current berms to improve tobogganing hills.
Hard capping with concrete in certain areas to seal in the
contamination and provide possible social/gathering event spaces.
Hard capping with asphalt to create additional parking areas, a new
service road and new pathways.
Hard capping certain areas for the establishment of a new playground.
Staff is looking to implement a phased approach to remediation which
balances the following:
•
•
•
Begin work on the site in the summer of 2014
Available funding
Potential savings realized by reuse of excavated soils on-site
•
Removal of the fencing
In addition to soil remediation measures, Staff has identified the existing
infrastructure (water, sewer, and other utilities) within the park that must be
relocated from contaminated areas. A clean corridor for new utilities is
incorporated under the service road to avoid future maintenance within
contaminated areas.
Concept Plans for Park Revitalization
Required remediation will involve the demolition of a large portion of the
Park, thus it will be necessary to reconstruct the site to provide basic park
infrastructure to the public. Paths and trails need to be rebuilt, trees need
to be planted, services including lighting and water need to be relocated,
and amenities like the playground need to be moved.
Preliminary
discussions have been held with Legacy and Bayfest representatives to
ensure their future plans are considered. Correspondence from Michelle
Stokely as the Bayfest representative is attached for Council’s consideration.
The site has been broken into four planning blocks to allow portions of the
site to advance ahead of others.
Staff has assessed fill and topsoil site contamination, cultural facilities and
memorials (including trees), paths and walkways, infrastructure and utilities,
and together with the remediation strategy have prepared two general
concept plans as appended to this report.
These concepts propose
alternative options for post-remediation park configuration to be posted on
the website and presented to the public for community consultation. While
the two concepts generally share a similar configuration, differences include:
Concept Plan ‘A’
• Restore the Great Lawn, with an option to construct an Events Pad to
permit future festivals and events like Bayfest.
• Locate the pollution barrier under the Waterfront Trail to allow for a
separation from Sarnia Bay and for the planting of Trail trees.
• Relocate the playground to a renewed Dow People Place to ensure
close proximity to washrooms and the proposed jumping fountain.
Concept Plan ‘B’
• Reconstruct the Great Lawn as a fenced artificial playing surface
similar to Norm Perry Park; this would preclude future concert events.
• Extending the coastal wall for the full extent of the Park shoreline and
replacing the beach area with a hard cap.
• Relocating the playground north to the former Bayfest stage area.
The proposed revitalization concepts are intended to be linked to and
support the proposed remediation strategies. Many of the proposed ideas in
the two concept plans are common and interchangeable between the two
and can be modified and adapted to incorporate community consultation in
the final plan.
The concept plans assume any remediation within the Legacy Project will be
the responsibility of the City.
For estimating purposes, CPRAPC has
assumed the top 0.5 meters of existing soil will require replacement and
separation from the underlying fill by a geotextile layer/textile. Similarly for
the optional events pad, anchor points would be incorporated into the design
of the concrete pad’s foundation to eliminate the need for any future staking
into the remediated soils.
3rd Party QP and Environmental Consultant
Staff is in the process of retaining a 3rd party environmental consultant to
assist staff with the following tasks:
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•
•
Serve as a Qualified Person (QP) to review the remediation strategies
plan and overall park concept plan to ensure they comply with the Risk
Assessment document and recommended Risk Mitigation Measures.
Based on the remediation strategies plan and park concept plan,
prepare a Health and Safety Plan (HASP) for Centennial Park, which
will cover construction activities and long term maintenance activities.
Based on the remediation strategies plan and final park concept plan,
prepare an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) to cover park
construction activities and long term maintenance activities. This
document will also establish policies and procedures applicable to all
park users and uses in the park on a go forward basis.
This work will be used in the preparation of upcoming construction tender
documents by City staff.
Consultation:
As indicated earlier in this report, staff will be engaging the public and
stakeholders through various means. A copy of the information package is
attached. The public will be notified of the engagement by the following
methods:
•
•
City of Sarnia website (all documents, plans and reports are available
for public consumption)
The dedicated e-mail: centennialpark@sarnia.ca (which has remained
active since November 18, 2013 and will continue to be monitored by
staff)
•
A staff-led public meeting/open house to be held the week of April 14
to present the proposed remediation strategies and concept plans to
promote discussion and seek feedback.
All input will be considered, summarized to Council, and factored into the
final Park Concept Plan to be presented to Council for endorsement on
May 5, 2014.
Financial Implications:
CPRAPC is applying for a grant from the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities for the professional services required by the QP and
environmental consultant.
These costs represent the only financial
implication of the remediation planning and design. The approved budget
for these services is $80,000. Preliminary high level cost estimates for the
park remediation and the restoration concepts are included in the
information attached to this report for each concept plan.
Prepared by:
Approved by:
J.P. André Morin, P.Eng.
City Engineer
Margaret Misek-Evans
City Manager
Attachment(s):
Centennial Park Information Package
Correspondence from M. Stokely re: Bayfest
CENTENNIAL PARK
REMEDIATION AND CONCEPT PLAN DESCRIPTIONS
The proposed remediation strategy for the site has been developed in accordance with
the findings of the Phase I and II reports and Risk Assessment prepared by Golder
Associates. The generalized strategy as shown on Figure 1 proposes:
•
•
•
•
•
Placement of a geotextile layer/fabric with 0.5 metres of clean soil above. This
strategy is expected to be used for the majority of the grassed areas in the
northern portion of the park;
Increasing berm heights and constructing new ones to locate excavated
contaminated soil onsite rather than trucking it away;
Hard capping with concrete in certain areas to seal in the contamination and
provide possible social/gathering event spaces;
Shoreline remediation through either a coastal wall with hard capping or a sheet
pile wall under the Waterfront Trail and a remediated beach; and
Hard capping to create additional parking areas, a new service road, new
pathways and for the establishment of a new playground.
Park Reconstruction
Required remediation will involve the demolition of a large portion of the Park, thus it will
be necessary to reconstruct the site to provide basic park infrastructure to the public.
Paths and trails need to be rebuilt, trees need to be planted, services including lighting
and water need to be replaced and relocated, and amenities like the playground need to
be moved. In considering reconstruction measures to restore the park to public use,
staff has assessed fill and topsoil site contamination, cultural facilities and memorials
(including trees), paths and walkways, infrastructure and utilities.
Alternative Concepts
Two alternative post-reconstruction concept plans have been prepared for discussion
and feedback. The concepts (Figures 3 and 4) propose similar measures as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
Additional parking areas adjacent to Front Street and Harbour Road;
A multi-use trail to connect the Waterfront Trail to Venetian Boulevard and the
trail extension Point Edward is to construct in 2014-2015;
A reconstructed social/gathering place at the intersection of the trails;
Tiered seating adjacent to the gathering place on the excavated soil berm;
A new service road adjacent to the relocated utility corridor.
Opportunities to relocate trees and plant new ones will be further identified as design
work progresses. Both concepts assume the Legacy Project will be constructed as
presented. Paths are shown to link the project to surrounding parking areas, streets,
transit stops and other areas of the park. The two concepts differ in the following ways:
Concept Plan ‘A’ (Figure 3)
• Restore the Great Lawn, with a future option to construct an Events Pad to
permit future festivals and events like Bayfest and the Highland Games;
• Locate the pollution barrier under the Waterfront Trail to allow for a separation
from Sarnia Bay and for the planting of trees along the trail; and
• Relocate the playground to the Dow People Place area to ensure close proximity
to washrooms and the proposed jumping fountain.
Concept Plan ‘B’ (Figure 4)
• Construct fenced Multi-Purpose artificial field that replaces lawn/festival space;
Repurpose adjacent berms as tiered-seating and relocate tobogganing/fitness hill
within Park;
• Construct amenities including artificial field lighting, reconstruct Dow People
Place as a Fieldhouse, and build a new picnic pavilion;
• Extend the coastal wall and railing for the full extent of the Park shoreline
replacing sand area with hard cap; and
• Relocate playground to former Bayfest stage area; use new berm as windbreak.
Preliminary Cost Estimates
The following estimates are very preliminary; a greater degree of accuracy will be
known at the construction design phase. In addition, anticipated costs may not be
incurred all at once; the project could be phased as Blocks as shown on Figure 1.
Remediation
Item
Soft Cap
Hard Cap (Parking)
Hard Cap (Former Playground)
Sheet Pile and Restore Beach (Concept A)
Coastal Wall and Hard Cap (Concept B)
Legacy Project Remediation
Utility Relocation
New Berms and Trees
Contingency (QA/QC, Engineering)
Total
Concept Plan A
$1,800,000
$200,000
$250,000
$600,000
$1,000,000
$300,000
$600,000
$1,200,000
$5,950,000
Concept Plan B
$1,800,000
$200,000
$250,000
$1,400,000
$1,000,000
$300,000
$600,000
$1,400,000
$6,950,000
Reconstruction
Item
Paths, Lighting and Signage
Service Road
Replace and/or Reconstruct Playground
Berm Seating
Construct and Reconstruct Plazas
Remove and Reconstruct Monuments
Events Pad
Artificial Field Base and Curb
Artificial Field, Fencing and Lighting
Artificial Field Maintenance/Replacement
Pavilion, Field House, Fitness Hill
Contingency (QA/QC, Engineering)
Total
Concept Plan A
$1,200,000
$150,000
$80,000
$120,000
$230,000
$120,000
$100,000
$500,000
$2,500,000
Concept Plan B
$1,250,000
$150,000
$80,000
$600,000
$230,000
$120,000
$340,000
$730,000
$500,000 (every 10-12 yrs.)
$500,000
$1,130,000
$5,630,000
Comments and Feedback
The intent is to evolve to a final finished park concept plan that may be Concept A, B or
some variation based on public input. The community is invited to provide comment on
the proposed concepts over the period of March 25th to April 23rd using the dedicated
email address: centennialpark@sarnia.ca
A staff-led public open house and meeting are planned for April 15th at 6pm in Council
Chambers to present concepts and receive input. Staff will report back to Council at the
May 5th meeting.
Please submit comments by April 23, 2014
Figure 1 – Remediation Strategies Plan
Figure 2 – Existing Park Configuration
Figure 3 – Concept ‘A’
Figure 4 – Concept ‘B’
Cr
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Bayfest Festival of Performing Arts
485 Harbour Road
Sarnia, ON N7T 5R8
March 7,2014
Marg Misek-Evans
City Manager
255 Christina St. N.
Sarnia, ON. N7T 7NT
Dear Marg,
to give an opinion on the remediation of Centennial Park and
how it affects Sarnia Bayfest the festival. At this time, there are no plans to resurrect the
festival; it will remain on hiatus through the next several years. I am not confirming that the
festival will never make a re-emergence however I can confirm there are no immediate plans.
I have been requested
As an organization, we plan
to continue being involved in the community, mainly
through the development and execution of the Sarnia lnternational Powerboat Festival. We
plan to continue to grow the annual August festival slowly and methodically ensuring the
sustainability of the event into the future.
It is my personal recommendation that the City of Sarnia continue to look into repurposing Centennial Park by retrofitting with Astroturf sporting fields. lt is my understanding
currently that community fields are being used to capacity and the option of more sporting
fields will relieve this pressure. With the success of Norm Perry Park, I am confident the City of
Sarnia can acquire corporate sponsorship to offset some of the remediation expenses of the
playing fields, therefore not passing along exorbitant costs to the citizens of Sarnia.
lf there are any changes or developments in the future concerning Sarnia Bayfest,
ensure the City will stay abreast.
I
Lastly, I would like the City to look into removing the dirt piled up in the parking lot
adjacent to the Sarnia Bay boat launch. As the summer approaches parking becomes an issue as
people come down to enjoy the waterfront and have no where to park. The waterfront at Sarnia
Bay is still a large tourism draw for Sarnia and the large dirt piles ruin the landscape.
Furthermore, the public constantly receives parking tickets, deterring any future visits down by
the bay,
lf you have any questions please feel free to contact me at my office
Sincerely,
RECEIVED
Michele Stokley
m
ichele@sa rnia bayfest.com
Bayfest Festival of Performing Arts (519-337-4474)
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CITY MANAGER