A problem has arisen that could delay the inaugural opening of a splash park that was recently constructed near the pool at the Fayette City Park. 

The concrete used to pour the pad contains lignite, a soft, brown sedimentary rock formed from naturally-compressed peat. It was likely in the sand used to mix the concrete from which the pad was poured. When concrete containing lignite becomes wet, particles near the surface can expand and cause pop outs.

Fayette’s Director of Public Works, Danny Dougherty, said the pop outs were observed a day after the splash park was tested with all of the equipment last fall.

Since then, Dougherty has been in contact with Ideal Landscaping, the St. Louis-based company that built the splash park. He said Ideal has offered to apply a rubberized coating over the existing concrete, which is normally an upgrade valued at around $18,000. The coating is supposed to last 10 years, but only comes with a three-year warranty. Once the coating wears down, the city will be in the same position as it is currently. It will then either have to re-apply the coating, at full cost to the city, or re-construct the pad.

“I don’t like that,” Dougherty told members of the city’s Board of Aldermen at their last regular meeting on Tuesday, February, 22. He along with John Pettit, the chair of the splash park ad hoc committee, are set to have a telephone conference this week with Ideal Landscaping. 

“They coat a lot of splash pads and they look nice. But my big problem with that is that we wouldn’t have to coat it at all if it was done right,” Dougherty said. “We didn’t get what our donations paid for.”

Dougherty said he wants the concrete to be torn out and replaced. Doing so will mean that some of the piping will also have to be replaced. It will also mean that the opening of the splash park, tentatively planned for May, will likely be delayed.

The city still owes $107,000 for the construction of the splash park. The cost to replace the cement pad has not yet been determined. Nathan Nickolaus, the city’s attorney, suggested the city withhold further payment until the construction is completed to the city’s satisfaction.

“I think you’re wasting your time listening to them on the coating, because you’re never going to agree to that,” Nickolaus told Dougherty and the council. He said the city should tell them to tear it out and redo it correctly, and not pay until it is done.

Dougherty said that other than the wrong concrete, Ideal Landscaping did an excellent job constructing the splash park. “That’s between them and the concrete company. It has nothing to do with us,” he said.

Southwest Ward Alderman Grafton Cook, who attended the meeting virtually via Zoom, said that the money Fayette owes is the only leverage the city has to make sure the project is done correctly. 

The council voted unanimously to grant Dougherty and Nickolaus authority to enter into discussions with Ideal Landscaping about withholding the remaining funds until the concrete is replaced.

The splash park was funded entirely through donations at a cost of $321,900. An early anonymous donation in the amount of $70,000 jump started the fundraising phase. In April 2020, the Sheltered Services Board in Fayette pledged $40,000 toward the project. Donations exceeded the quarter-million mark when Lucile Thurman left $150,000 of her estate for the park.

Construction on the project officially broke ground on Monday, October 4, 2021. Once open, it will be a free attraction to the public.