By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — There is an outside chance that the splash pad in War Veterans Park could open by Memorial Day, Mayor Bill Aiello said Thursday.
Due to recent setbacks, the splash pad’s opening before next month remains a long shot.
Aiello explained that the discovery by the construction crew from PV Paving & Concrete LLC, Smethport, Pa., discovered large pieces of concrete buried in the footprint of the splash pad, plus wet weather had set back the date for its completion.
“We’re still hoping for Memorial Day, but it’s a long shot,” the mayor said in an interview with the Olean Star.
The bid was awarded to PV Paving & Concrete LLC, which began cleaning the site in March.
The city had used federal Covid aid to purchase components for the splash park. They have been stored inside the fence at the adjacent city pool, which was closed last year after the pool’s filtration system failed.
The splash pad project had already been delayed due to the amount of time it took to obtain a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers due to the proximity of the Olean Creek dike that is part of the city’s flood control system. Permits were also needed from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Cattaraugus County Health Department.
The Common Council was pleasantly surprised last year that the $459,540 bid from PV Paving and Concrete was lower than expected. The only other bid received was for $2.6 million.
The cost of the splash pad equipment was $800,000 and engineering cost another $50,000. The coyote had expected to pay about $800,000 for construction.
Last month, while digging at the splash pad site, the contractor discovered the large pieces of concrete believed to have been buried there during demolition of the former city pool built in the 1950s that once stood on the site. Work was delayed until the concrete could be removed. Wet weather also slowed construction progress.
The swimming pool at War Veterans Park was closed last summer due to the failed sand filter and associated piping.
Last fall the city was notified that instead of a $250,000 state grant to renovate the swimming pool that was built in 1979, the Olean pool was eligible for $750,000 because fewer municipalities participated in the program to repair or rehabilitate their swimming pools.
Aiello said the city expects to send out bid specifications for the swimming pool very soon.
Getting the pool completed before the end of the summer, the mayor said, “is a longshot.”
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