With fall 2005 fast approaching and Proposition K renovations at Rustic Canyon Park remaining incomplete for the third year, members of the local volunteer neighborhood oversight committee (LVNOC) will meet tonight with the project manager to get things back on track. Although the men’s and women’s bathrooms have been retrofitted to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the park’s handicapped ramp, originally scheduled to be completed by the beginning of summer camp’June 29’remains unfinished, owing to a subcontractor’s error. According to Neil Drucker, project manager for recreational and cultural facilities with the Bureau of Engineering, “There is a mistake in one of the concrete landings that has been corrected by the subcontractor at his own cost. It will not be a cost to the City or Prop. K.” The ramp, which descends from the porch on the north side of the main building to the children’s play area, remains off limits to the public pending repairs. According to Nelson Willis, LVNOC chairman, the committee signed off on the overall plan a year ago with the promise from then project manager Alice Gong that they would be presented with a revised list of projects so they would have an opportunity to set priorities. “In addition, Gong promised to supply the committee with a revised list of costs to date and firm numbers on the cost of each of the items approved by the committee.” The list includes an automatic irrigation system, repairs to the entry courtyard, and replacement of inside patio doors with French doors. Inside upgrades include removing all acoustical tiles, resurfacing the basketball/volleyball court and adding fencing where appropriate. The VNOC was formed as a result of the controversy surrounding a previous plan that was developed by the previous VNOC and the Department of Recreation and Parks, but without input from the broader Rustic Canyon community. Opponents of the plan argued that the public had not been notified with sufficient time of VNOC meetings, and had been deprived of an opportunity for input. “We make every effort to accommodate the needs and wishes of the LVNOC when possible,” Drucker said, “but ultimately the City, not the LVNOC, must make the final decision on design’the LVNOC is an advisory body.” The project was previously designed and bids had been awarded by Recreation and Parks prior to being turned over to the Bureau of Engineering, which caused a delay in the construction schedule and reduced the amount of money available for construction. Of the original Prop K allotment $500,00, about $150,000 remains to complete most of the items on the LVNOC list. “The project was delayed due to delays in transferring the funds from Prop. K to the General Services Department (GSD), beyond the control of the Bureau of Engineering, which pushed the construction into a time period where it is competing with a number of other GSD- constructed projects,” Drucker said. In addition, Drucker said the department stopped work during the summer so the work would not interfere with the park’s summer camp activities. He anticipates that the entire project will be completed by February 6, 2006. The LVNOC will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Rustic Canyon Park, 601 Latimer Rd. The public is invited.
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