Sprinklers add to park delay

June Casagrande

A malfunctioning sprinkler system is threatening to further delay

opening of the Bonita Canyon Sports Park.

Contractors and city staff members are working to solve problems

with valves, water pressure and debris in the irrigation system.

Public Works Director Steve Badum said he is optimistic that the

irrigation system can be fixed in time for the park to open on

schedule.

“We hope to be able to resolve these issues quickly,” Badum said.

If the irrigation system at the park isn’t fixed by the end of

February, it will likely delay opening of a portion of the park that

was planned for mid-May.

The $7-million park project is already more than a year behind

schedule because contractor Castello Inc. suffered crippling

financial problems in November 2001. Those problems were not related

to the company’s work on the Bonita Canyon Sports Park, Badum said.

Because the project was bonded, the city did not lose any money,

but they did lose some time. Erreca’s Inc. took over and resumed work

in February 2002.

The portion of the park near the end of Ford Road, called the

“West Park,” is scheduled to open by the end of May, assuming the

irrigation glitch is fixed soon. West Park includes playground

equipment, lots of open space and some youth soccer fields.

The East Park and Mid Park areas contain three youth baseball

fields, three soccer fields and one multiuse playing field. That area

of the park, which runs between Ford Road and Bonita Canyon Drive,

also contains tot lots, picnic areas and restrooms. That portion of

the park is scheduled to open by fall.

Newport Beach Little League leaders have been battling the city to

get the fields open, arguing that they could be made available sooner

than autumn. They protest the 90-day “plant establishment period”

advocated by city officials and the contractor to allow grass and

other plants to take firm root.

The delay is reminiscent of the slow history of Costa Mesa Farm

Sports Complex. In part trouble with the grass there -- a cold

winter held growth back -- the Costa Mesa fields opened in summer

2000, a year later than expected.

City Council members will get an update on the park at their study

session on Tuesday.