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Three of the five picnic pavilions in Anoka County’s Bunker Hills Regional Park will be demolished this year because of structural deficiencies.
Two of the pavilions won’t be open this season, but the third will have picnic tables set up on the concrete slab that will remain after the pavilion is razed, Anoka County Parks Director Jeff Perry said.
All three pavilions that are made of glue-laminated wood, have been showing decay over the past several years which has been monitored and mitigated, Perry said in an email response to questions.
But late last summer staff noticed some slight roof sagging on the small pavilion and after further investigation, the decision was made to remove it because of advanced wood decay; that will take place this spring, leaving the concrete slab for picnic use.
As all three pavilions were constructed about the same time, the early 2000s, a structural engineer from the TKDA firm was hired to look at the condition of the other two pavilions, one large and one medium, both located in the northern part of the park, Perry wrote.
The report by TKDA’s Eric Steele stated that both pavilions were rated in poor condition, meaning the “building structure has multiple life-safety issues and/or significant deterioration.”
Perry said the wood decay may be related to a manufacturing defect coupled with environmental conditions where the wood is exposed to moisture.
The engineer presented three options to the county, two of them repairs with estimated costs ranging from $250,000 to $700,000 and a third to remove and replace, which has an estimated price tag between $750,000 and $1 million.
The latter was the staff recommendation and agreed to by the Parks Committee at its March 7 meeting, said Commissioner Mike Gamache, committee chairperson, when he gave an update at the Anoka County Board meeting March 14.
Demolition will likely take place in early summer and the replacement pavilions will be constructed of maintenance-free steel, which has a life expectancy of 50 years.
“The longevity of the repair options was far less,” Perry said.
There is money in the state bonding bill for the replacement pavilions, but the funds won’t be available in time for the 2023 season, Gamache said.
“It will be an inconvenience to park users,” he said.
The 2023 bonding bill has passed the Minnesota House, but was voted down by the Senate when it did not receive the necessary 60% majority. However, it was then tabled, so the legislation can be brought back for a vote later in the session.
The goal is to construct the two replacement pavilions this fall or next spring with the small pavilion to be rebuilt with money from a future funding cycle, Perry said.
Perry added that if the bonding bill does not pass this year, the county will explore other grant-funded priorities in the five-year capital improvement plan.
“I am confident that this disruption to picnic pavilion services at Bunker Hills Regional Park will be short term with the anticipation of replacing the structures with a more sustainable design and long-lasting materials that will better serve the public into the future,” he said in the email.
There are no structural concerns with the other two pavilions in the park because they are steel-framed with shade sail, Perry wrote.
According to the county parks web pages, the two small pavilions in the park have a capacity of 50 people; one medium sized holds up to 150 and the other a maximum of 75 with the one large pavilion having a 256 maximum. All are rentals and none of them are enclosed.
SOURCE: Hometown Source
