Stalled Stalls

It was a busy weekend at Hooper Park during the 35th Annual Bob Purdy Softball Tournament, and for the second year in a row players had to make do with porta-potties and a lack of running water.

Although Thompson Contracting of Libby delivered the park's new concrete restrooms on schedule at the end of July, issues with plumbing and the state-mandated public water supply system have kept the facility shuttered.

Nevertheless, the end may finally be in sight. (Knock on wood.)

At this month's Government Day meeting Aug. 3, Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Susan Good Giese said they've had a harder time getting everything together to get the facility functioning, including a shortage of plumbers.

Misty Edwards, the county finance coordinator, said plumbers are in high demand during summer months and those in Helena who were interested in the project couldn't get to it until after mid-September. Looking outside the Helena area, Edwards found the ad for Rocky Mountain Plumbing in the BVD and Choteau-based Larry McKenzie proved to be the only one to submit a quote.

The components for the water system arrived last week, and McKenzie is scheduled to begin installation Aug. 27, Edwards said in an e-mail to the BVD.

"Once he has that installed, Drake Water Technologies has to certify that the system was installed as approved by DEQ, and they have to send a certification to DEQ before the system can be started," she wrote. "They anticipate that will take less than a week."

The final hurdle should be the installation of sidewalks that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

That the public water supply system may prove to be one of the final delays brings a certain symmetry to the project, since it was the first issue to delay the new restroom back in April 2016. The county commission announced the award of a $66,000 Department of Commerce grant and approval of matching funds for a new restroom in November 2015, with the goal of having it installed during the summer of 2016.

However, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality deemed the park a "regulated public water source" that spring, which required the county to install a chlorination purification system. That in turn forced the reconfiguration of the restroom building design to accommodate it.

In September 2016, the county awarded to contract for the facility to UBC Precast in Blackfoot, Idaho, and with installation anticipated for spring of 2016, the Park Board authorized demolition of the old restroom.

Since then, the project has encountered a long string of delays, with UBC Precast ultimately defaulting on the original contract to build the structure. Although the grant funding expired in the interim, the county commissioners chose make good on their commitment to Lincoln and awarded a new contract to Thompson Contracting, despite a higher cost and lack of outside funding.

At the time the county applied for the original grant, it was for a pre-engineered concrete structure rather than a stick built one. Edwards explained that in addition to low maintenance and long-term durability, the concrete structure eliminated the need for architectural or engineering expenses.

The county is still pursuing legal action against UBC Precast to recover more than $51,000 initially paid to the company for the building's construction.