Improvements coming to YC parks

Jul. 23—Tucked into the consent agenda at Tuesday night's Yuba City City Council meeting were two items meant to improve the quality of some of the most used parks in the city.

Included in the unanimous approval of the consent agenda were improvements that are set to be made to both Gauche Aquatic Park and Sam Brannan Park.

For Gauche Aquatic Park, the council approved the $326,333 purchase of "lifefloor tiles and the manufacturing of an AP 300 Sprayground" for the water park's zero-depth entry pool. The contract for both was awarded to WhiteWater West Industries Ltd. of Richmond, British Columbia.

According to a staff report, the purpose of the changes is to "remove and replace the existing failing water feature in the zero-depth entry pool, ensuring a safe, fun, and fully-functional aquatic facility for the community."

The city said the original equipment at the park was installed in 2007.

"The sprayground will come to the end of its serviceable life span at the end of the 2022 season due to corrosion from chlorine in the pool water," the staff report said. "Corrosion has affected most of the structure's footings and hand railing."

The city said after reviewing "multiple options for the replacement of the existing structure," that the "most cost and time-efficient option would be performing a sole-source purchase of the exact same model and self-performing the demolition and installation."

Community Services Director Brad McIntire said the replacement work at Gauche Aquatic Park could start between six and nine months from now.

"We hope to replace it in spring 2023 prior to opening in summer 2023," McIntire said.

Sam Brannan Park

Along with Gauche Aquatic Park improvements, the Sam Brannan Park restroom will get an overhaul to "improve the park's usability and reduce (the) need for staff maintenance," the city said.

Approved on the consent agenda on Tuesday night was the awarding of a $234,096 construction contract to Public Restroom Company for the Sam Brannan Restroom Replacement project.

According to the staff report, the existing restroom at Sam Brannan Park was installed during initial construction in 1963.

"Due to the restroom's age, it was constructed with features that provide little privacy and a lack of vandal-resistant fixtures," the staff report said. "The restroom currently has stalls with no doors for privacy, and the fixtures are frequently needing repairs due to vandalism. Additionally, the entrance doors are manual, which causes Parks staff to manually lock and unlock the restrooms daily at park opening and closing times. Lastly, due to age, the current restroom has plumbing and lighting issues which are required to be regularly repaired by Parks staff, which takes away time from other important tasks that the staff are required to complete."

The city said after a review of possible vendors and products, staff said work to be done by the Public Restroom Company will meet all of the city's needs for the park.

Public Restroom Company has developed plans for a "pre-fabricated restroom" that is expected to solve current bathroom issues. The proposal from the company includes the following improvements: — Three stalls with locking doors. Two of the three stalls are family restrooms with changing tables. — Vandal-proof fixtures — Automated door locks which coincide with park hours. The system includes "Exit" buttons in English and Spanish in the case of accidental lock ins. — Non-absorbent concrete and good ventilation systems to eliminate odors — 5-year component warranty and 20-year structure warranty

Public Restroom Company said it will be able to "deliver and install the restroom within 240 days" of the contract's approval.

"The restrooms at Sam Brannan will easily be completed before the start of our busy season which starts late April," Parks and Grounds Superintendent Rob Condrey said in an email on Friday. "The restroom is prefab so installation should be complete within one week after delivery."

In an effort to save costs, the city said staff from its Parks and Recreation Department will "coordinate with Public Works Staff to demolish the existing building in-house and prepare the existing concrete pad and utilities for connection to the new prefabricated structure."