A new county park along the Kimmswick riverfront is starting to take shape.
The Jefferson County Council voted unanimously Jan. 29 to award a contract for up to $70,000 to PlayPower LT Farmington for a playground on the 20-acre site near the dock where riverboat cruises land at Kimmswick.
The company submitted the lowest of four bids for the project, and its contract calls for All Inclusive Rec LLC, also of Farmington, to install the playground.
Parks Department Director Tim Pigg said installation should begin by the end of March or possibly early April, weather permitting.
“It will have a boat theme,” he said.
Pigg said the playground will be surrounded by a bed of wood chips rather than the rubberized pellets that are popular in many play areas.
“We talked with everyone involved in this, and they all told us, we don’t want to go with (the rubber pellets) because of the flooding issues. This area is sure to flood at some point, and I don’t want to have to explain why we have to replace all those rubber pieces floating down the Mississippi,” he said. “The wood chips will still provide a good cushion, and when it floods, we’ll have to pay maybe a couple of thousand dollars to bring in new ones, rather than maybe half the price that we’re paying for the entire playground (to replace the rubber pellets).”
Pigg said by the time the playground is complete, a pavilion nearby should also be built.
Last year, the council awarded a $176,925 contract to Integra Inc. in St. Charles to design and build the 30-by-22-foot metal pavilion on a concrete pad.
“We’ve had some delays on the pavilion, mainly because of supply-chain issues getting some of the metal in, and the weather has been a factor, too. You need days that are dry and warm, and we haven’t had enough days in a row that have been both. We want it done right, so we’re not feeling that we need to rush it.”
A vault restroom has been installed at the site and has been used, Pigg said.
Cowboy’s Cranes-SCE Inc. of Villa Ridge installed the restroom, which includes separate quarters for men and women, under a $62,508 contract the County Council awarded in spring 2023.
Pigg described the facility as a large concrete vault dug into the ground that works similar to a septic tank. The design, he said, is used in many river access areas.
The money to pay for the playground, pavilion and restrooms will be drawn from the $43.6 million the county received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
ARPA money also will pay up to $15,000 for eight concrete tables, each weighing about 2,000 pounds, which will be anchored to the concrete floor in the pavilion in at least two places to prevent them from washing away in a flood and to protect them from vandals.
“We’re hoping to have a nice ribbon-cutting ceremony at the park in the middle of July or so,” Pigg said.