Substandard paving, dating back decades to when the courts were originally built, will reportedly elevate costs to renovate two of four tennis courts at Stephen Decatur Park.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(May 3, 2018) The Berlin Mayor and Council discussed the following items during a public meeting at Town Hall last Monday:

Tennis foul

Josh Taylor, project manager with Davis, Bowen & Friedel, said costs to renovate the tennis courts at Stephen Decatur Park would be about $12,000 more than originally estimated.

He said a contractor went to mill off a half-inch of asphalt to overlay new pavement, but two of the four courts started to fail and crack.

“The subgrade and the sub layers of the tennis court were in such bad shape that [the contractor] had to stop, pull back and reevaluate what’s going on,” Taylor said. “The reason for the failures is substandard materials were used and substandard insulation practices were used during the original installation of the tennis courts.”

Councilmembers briefly considered other, potentially less costly uses for two of the courts, including a volleyball court, but Taylor said that was impractical because of new lighting systems already installed. Additionally, Town Administrator Laura Allen said a grant funding most of the project could be in jeopardy if the scope was significantly changed.

The council unanimously approved a change order to install two layers of asphalt on the two eastern most courts.

Construction update

Public Works and Water Resources Director Jane Krieter said recent stormwater improvements on William Street and the area of Cedar Avenue, Pine Street and Maple Avenue included replacing old corrugated metal pipes with larger, concrete piping.

“It does take up more room, but it’s going to carry a lot more water through the system,” she said.

Kreiter said the Army Corps of Engineers in 2007 listed the area as a high priority for stormwater improvements.

She said the next phase of work would be increasing the size of piping downstream, near Nelson Street, Graham Avenue and Grice Street, and grants would likely help fund those improvements. There are also plans to convert an old substation into an offline wetland or other stormwater holding facility.

“You will see a difference on Nelson Street with the flooding, because it will allow much more water to come through, quicker, into Hudson Branch,” Kreiter said. “You’re going to see a reduction in flooding the entire length of those roadways.”

50-50=0

The council unanimously approved a fee waiver for a May 22 Stephen Decatur High School Math Honor Society event at Stephen Decatur Park.

Laila Mirza, president of the society, said the annual event is an end-of-year picnic to celebrate accomplishments, welcome new members and hold officer elections. The fee was $50.

Café table

Burley Florist owner Michael Vadella asked for and was granted permission to place a small cafe table, two chairs and a small container of flowers outside his shop on 12 Pitts Street.

Planning Director Dave Engelhart said the 30-inch table would leaves more than enough space on the 79-inch sidewalk to pass ADA compliance, which requires at least three feet of clearance.