Electrical work has finally been completed on the long-delayed and over-budget gazebo at the Plaza de Española. With that job done, the city has begun working on the gazebo’s surroundings by laying sod and trying to beautify the once dusty plaza.
“When your’e that far behind you’re going to be feeling the heat,” Española Community Services Director Leroy Garcia said. “People want to see it done. I want to see it done.”
But community members will have to wait until the fall for the rest of project to be completed. That is when trees are expected to be planted and portales installed, Garcia said. It is too hot to plant the trees now and an architect has to be hired to install the portales, he said.
As for the gazebo, it was a long-time coming. It was originally intended for use at the 2006 Española Fiesta it ended up being scheduled for completion Nov. 12, 2007. This date came and went and a failed electrical inspection lengthened the project into this summer, city documents state. The city was able to get a temporary occupancy permit for the gazebo in time for this year’s Fiesta but the electrical matter wasn’t settled until Aug. 8. The problem cropped up last December when a state Construction Industries Division inspector did not approve the original electrical work, which involved a breaker recessed into the gazebo’s concrete, which along with being in an area that was too small, would have corroded over time, said Garcia.
There were a series of rejected change orders from the contractor, Sarcon Construction, requesting an increase in fees to cover the cost of paying an electrical engineer to properly install electrical boxes, Sarcon project manager Kevin Braun said. According to city documents dated May 5, 2008, Sarcon and the city finally agreed on an additional $8,000 for the completion of the electrical work. The original change order from February asked for $10,802.
Sarcon obtained an engineer from Peak Power, based out of Santa Fe, who installed a stand alone breaker outside of the gazebo, which required removing the original electrical lining, an expensive new panel and the pouring of a new concrete slab, Braun said.
Before the electrical work was completed a generator provided temporary power for special events. The new system should provide at least double that of the generator, Braun said.
The next event planned at the gazebo is the Chamber of Commerce’s Spirit Days, scheduled for Sept. 20. In the meantime the focus, said Garcia, is to make sure the grass roots. The trees and portales will not be installed for neither Spirit Days nor the Española Valley Arts Festival, which is scheduled for early October, Garcia said.
Twenty-nine thousand square feet, or just about a half-acre, of Kentucky Bluegrass sod, a cool weather grass, was purchased from Moriarty-based Stonegate Turfgrass Ranch. Soil was brought in to cover the base course that originally surrounded the gazebo. However, Garcia said the consistency of the gravel beneath the soil should help it root — that and water.
According to Don Crismore of Stonegate Turfgrass Ranch the grass should be rooted in 10 to 11 days. During that time it will need to be watered twice a day and kept moist. On a normal watering schedule the area needs to be covered in an inch of water at each watering.
The rooting process is a crucial period for the grass, Garcia said.
“We don’t want the grass to go into shock,” he said, which is why city water from the city’s domestic water system will be used for the initial watering. Once the grass is rooted the city will turn to sewer treated and ditch water to water the grass three times a week in compliance with the city’s water restrictions, Garcia said.
“Our intent is to use as much recycled water as possible,” said Councilor Alfred Herrera, as he helped lay sod Aug. 7.
But as of yet there is no plan on when that will happen. The city’s water restrictions include a 60-day exemption for newly planted sod.
Water will be trucked in from the Rio Grande well, which is an irrigation well, and the Ranchitos well, or Well 7, when the grass begins its normal watering schedule, according to Water Department Director Marvin Martinez.
According to city documents, a $25,000 legislative appropriation was used to purchase the sod, which cost $10,377. The appropriation also covered the cost of sprinklers that were installed by city workers. Garcia estimates they cost around $5,000, he said money left over will go toward the next stage of the project.
Before the electrical complications the gazebo was around $100,000 over budget at approximately $238,000, according to city documents, After the latest changes, the total cost of the plaza project so far is approximately $273,000. Along with the cost of grass and sprinklers the contractor will be paid an additional $17,229 for the completion of the project, which included hiring out an electrical engineer, and an additional $2,398 was paid to the architect, Robert Baclawski Architects, for services rendered at the termination of their contract in May.
According to city documents, the three portales that are to be built at the Plaza will cost an estimated $35,400, with tienditas that are to be added later for an estimated $56,000. Garcia said $48,000 has been budgeted for the first three portales. The tienditas will have to wait until funds become available, he said.
Herrera said the newly added grass gives the community a chance to enjoy what their taxes pay for.
“It’s difficult for the public to come and sit around on bare dirt,” he said.
“Zeroscaping is good and I support it,” said Councilor Danielle Duran Aug. 8, at the plaza, “but it’s nice to have something green for the community,”