Garden City Engineer's Report

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah. September 10, 2015.  Zan Murray, the City Engineer, reported that the property on 350 has been checked out for making a walking path down to the lake from that area.  The current boardwalk has a lot of traffic, and the number of people using the boardwalk will just increase over time. 

The current boardwalk actually needs some refurbishing and maintenance.  The top decking does need to be replaced.  However, metal or aluminum would be very hot in the summer for bare-footed walkers.  The Trex material is actually too heavy for the current structure. 

There are a couple of alternatives in making a path from 350 South to allow people to get to the lake.  One alternative would be to make a path more to the west below the Sprouse home thereby avoiding going over the wetlands.  It would connect with the park in the northeast corner of the parking area and connect to the beginning of the current boardwalk.  A second alternative would be to go through the wetland area and connect with the Boardwalk a bit further down.  Stairs could also be made through the rocks area if needed.  Both of these alternatives would be hard surfaced—either concrete or asphalt.  The cost would be about the same for either surface.

People want to go to the beach.  They want to go the fastest way possible.  A walkway from 350 South will be helpful.    The quickest way will be considered.  The walkway will be as far to the east as possible next to the Sprouse property, and a privacy fence will be placed between the walkway and the Sprouse property.

There were a few leaks on First West near the post office.  The city cut across the road to hook to the water line and have taken care of the leaks.  There is a fountain that is on federal property that has been turned off.  Since the fountain was disconnected by request of the post office, the city has left it turned off.  There is another fountain by the public bathrooms further south from the intersection that is available to the public. 

Circle C completed the 150 South parking lot.  However, the road is rippling and cracking at the bottom of the road near the beach.  An extra drain was put in that area at the cost of $5,000 because of the water that moves through that area.  There may be soft soil under the road, or the road base may have gotten wet just prior to the road being asphalted.  If it wasn’t properly dried out before adding the asphalt, Circle C will need to fix the problem.  If, however, the problem is soft soil, the problem can be fixed, but would not be entirely Circle C’s problem.  Zan indicated that he will be at the scene when they dig down into the problem.  He estimated that the cost of the repair will be about $15,000 to $20,000.

The Water’s Edge Development phases 9 and 10 have been approved.  There are some wetlands within that property so that extra care must be taken to make sure that buildings are not on top of or too close to this area.  The wetlands do need to be protected.  A letter between the City and Norm Mecham has been requested to release the city from liability concerning these wetlands.

The application to the government for a loan to move forward with the water project is almost complete.  Zan Murray and his office are just finishing up the report.  The project will be broken into three regions. 

The first area will be north and work on extra water storage.  An alternative would be a series of PRV’s—connections that increase pressure.  There is also a possibility of a new tank.  PRVs largely stay close.  It includes the Elk Ridge tank with the idea of pumping water up to that tank and then filtering the water back down as needed.

The second area is the center of Garden City which includes the 300 West alternative.  This includes the 300 west pipeline.  There will be about 4,000 feet of pipe.  The cost is estimated at about $524,000.  A twenty percent contingency amount and engineering costs have been included in this figure. 

The third area will be the west end of Garden City which includes the mobilization of the Shundahi tank.  There also needs to be a booster station at Cherimoya.  There is a potential for a new water source at this end of the town.  It might be possible to put a pipeline down from Eagle Feather to another pressure zone alone the fire break.  That would mean there wouldn't be a need to pump water up from the bottom.  This would require extra pipe however. 

The total request for funds is approximately $3.5 million.    This will include the purchase of the tank, and an automatic system that gives water depth in any storage tank. It also includes upgrading two pump stations and the new line on 300 West.  The City will submit the application to find out the feasibility of getting that amount of money, and if the City can afford that much additional debt.

The application will be submitted soon.  The City will then know how much money the city will have to put into the project.  Also, the City will be able to see if they can afford everything, or if they need to separate out certain items.

A new well will still have to be found and drilled by 2020 to 2025.  Usage has been down a little during the last two summers.  That means people are becoming more conservative and that may extend the new well out a year or two further into the future.  Currently there are no pressure problems in the city’s water system.  With the Shundahi tank, the city will have met the water storage required by the State of Utah.  The City needs to keep the water rates at an affordable level.