Despite glitches, Sterling’s Northwestern Steel and Wire Park moving toward opening day

With an opening day on the horizon, contractors, Sterling city officials and Riverfront Commission members continue to iron out wrinkles with Northwestern Steel and Wire Park.

The Riverfront Commission met Wednesday and discussed some of the larger issues that need to be resolved before the park can officially open. The surface of the skating ribbon, the park building’s peeling paint and delays with installing fiber-optic cable for automatic doors and security cameras top the priority list.

“The concrete, we’re trying to figure that out,” Sterling City Manager Scott Shumard told the commission.

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With an opening day on the horizon, contractors, Sterling city officials and Riverfront Commission members continue to iron out wrinkles with Northwestern Steel and Wire Park. (Alex T. Paschal)

Brad Schrader, Sterling public works superintendent, said the concrete on the skating ribbon has a rough surface.

“The rocks weren’t pushed down. With the tubing, the contractor is saying they couldn’t get the rocks down that far. It’s got some rough spots on it, and my fear is that if they get moisture on it, it will start freezing and popping,” Schrader said.

Josh Johnson, chairman of the Sterling Riverfront Foundation and Sterling Ward 3 alderman, asked Schrader what the plan is to fix the rough surface.

“The contractor made a suggestion on what we should do. I don’t know if it’s the best solution. Their solution is to grind some of the rough stuff out, but it would expose the aggregate, so it wouldn’t look like a smooth surface,” Schrader said.

The other option suggested by the contractor would be to put epoxy on the surface, but Schrader said he fears that would create an ongoing maintenance issue with recoating the surface on an ongoing basis.

Zach Simpson of Strand Associates said the contractor also suggested using a rubbing brick to smooth out the rough spots on the skating ribbon. In answer to a question from Johnson about tearing out the ribbon concrete completely and redoing it, Simpson said the contractor has not offered that as a solution.

“At this point, it’s on the contractor to figure out what to do. I don’t think tearing it out is a great option, given all the tubing that is under that thing, and I think that might lead to more issues. I don’t have a good solution for the group, but we are working through that now,” Simpson said.

Another concern is paint peeling on the park shelter.

“The paint is not good on the building. It’s flaking off in many spaces. They were doing spot fixes, but I don’t know if spot fixes are going to do it because there are so many places. There are spots all over, and some of the sections are big, 8 to 10 inches across, where the paint is peeling off on the steel,” Shumard said.

Shumard said Studio GWA, the planning and architectural firm, has a punch list of items it will address in the next few weeks, including the peeling paint.

The fiber-optic cable for the park that will control the automatic doors for the building and also the security cameras is connected to the city. Shumard said Stratus Networks is waiting on Helm to finish the cable.

The park could open without the cable being connected, but Riverfront Commission member Skip McCloud said the security cameras should be operational before the park opens to the public.

“I don’t think we want to open the park until we have security,” McCloud said.

The group discussed possible opening dates for the park, with Shumard saying the park still could officially open in May. Testing for the splash pad and training for city workers to operate and maintain the splash pad are expected at the end of April, and planting, mulching and restoration planting work is expected to start about April 15.

The next meeting of the Riverfront Commission is April 22.