Progress slow but steady on pavilion, dog pound

The piers should be drilled soon on the Col. Frank Hash Tailgate Pavilion, which is under construction in the southeast corner in the rear parking lot of the TAC House.

Robert Edmonds, director of public works, provided an update on the project during an El Dorado Water and Public Works meeting Aug. 11.

Named after the former El Dorado mayor, who served two successive terms from 2011 until 2018, the L-shaped pavilion will come with hip-roofed framing, LED lighting, freezeproof water fountains, fans and self-draining farmhouse sinks.

The structure will be erected from a kit.

In late 2018, Hash proposed the idea of a pavilion to the El Dorado Works Board and the El Dorado City Council, saying that the structure could be used for tailgating and reserved for special events, including fundraisers, farmers’ and flea markets and other activities that are held at Memorial Stadium, the TAC House and Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, all of which are adjacent to the site.

Hash presented a funding request to the EWB, who administers the one-cent city sales tax that is dedicated to economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.

The request did not come with a dollar amount at the time, as Hash declined to publicly cite a quote, saying that he did not want to set a standard for potential bidders.

He returned to the EWB after bids were opened.

The low bid came in at $194,702.38 from local contractor Mattox Construction and Development and was approved by the EWB and the El Dorado City Council in December of 2018.

The following month, the council voted to name the pavilion after Hash, per a recommendation from Council member Judy Ward.

The project was one of several that was suspended last year when the city council agreed to place a moratorium on non-essential spending as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic raged, creating uncertainties for city revenues.

Edmonds has said the pavilion is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

In July, he told council members that there was more work to do on the concrete pad on which the pavilion will be erected.

He said the concrete piers will come next and more dirt work will be done before the pavilion kit can go up.

“I talked to the contractor yesterday and he said they will be drilling those piers within the next two weeks,” Edmonds said last week.

Council member Vance Williamson asked why the project is taking so long to complete.

Edmonds cited several factors, including inclement weather, scheduling issues with Mattox and the ongoing public health crisis.

“We didn’t give them the notice to proceed until this year,” he explained.

Edmonds also reported that a project to build a new city dog pound is under development.

Earlier this year, the city accepted an offer from LANXESS to lease to the city two acres of land at the intersection of U.S 82 and South West Avenue/ Southfield Road for the new site of the city pound.

The agreement calls for a 99-year lease at a nominal fee for the city.

In 2018, the city council dedicated $22,907 from the city’s reserve coffers to build a new dog pound and with additional funding from the public works’ budget, Edmonds has said about $40,000 is available for the project.

The search for a suitable location for the new pound took three years and earlier this year, Edmonds informed council members about the offer from LANXESS.

The pound will be moved from its longtime home at the City Shop on Martin Luther King Boulevard, just south of East Hillsboro.

Edmonds and city officials have said that the new site will allow for expansion, including the addition of more pens to house dogs, and heavy traffic flow and high visibility in the area will help to curb break-ins and dog thefts, a re-occurring problem at the existing pound.

While discussing the project in July, Edmonds told city council members that the project should be ready to bid in early August.

On Aug. 11, local architect Michael Rogers of MR Designs reported that the project is in the design development phase and he is working with Edmonds to finalize construction documents.

He said he is also awaiting a plat in order to include specifications about the grade and elevation of the land in the bid package.

Delays in the manufacturing and delivery of building materials have created concerns about costs and a timeline for the project, Rogers said, adding that a six-month minimum has been cited for metal buildings.

“And for a large building with any complexities at all, it’s going to be 52 weeks,” he said.

However, Rogers said the city will be able to determine costs and a timeline in real time.