The Civitan Park shade structure will be removed, repaired and reinstalled soon thanks to a vote of the Bartlesville City Council last week.
The park was closed last month when deficiencies were noticed in the structure, which was donated to the City in 2014 by the local Civitans group.
“On May 12, City staff noticed an excessive amount of movement in one of the columns of the 60-by-60-foot shade canopy at Civitan Park,” said Director of Engineering Micah Siemers. “While it was not a particularly windy day, there was a breeze and the structure was making creaking sounds and there was noticeable movement in the southeast column. Upon further inspection, some of the connections on the structure had been compromised, with broken or missing bolts and gaps at connections that should have been flush.”
The park was immediately closed to ensure safety and allow for a more in-depth inspection of the structure.
“In the following weeks, the connections between the columns and footings were exposed and found that the anchor bolts had not been set correctly and the columns were not securely fastened to the footings,” Siemers said. “Also, the footings were all set at different elevations, varying as much as 6.5 inches. Since the columns had been set directly on the footings, rather than using jack nuts to level the columns, the entire structure was out of plumb which has led to higher stresses on the connections between columns, rafters, and the ridge beam.”
He said improper installation of the structure has led to the compromised connections and broken bolts.
“We’ve been in coordination with a structural engineer to ensure the proper precautions are being taken,” Siemers said. “Based upon this information, the only way to fix the problem is to remove the structure, make modifications to the footings, repair damaged structural connections while the structure is on the ground, and then reinstall.”
Lee Construction of Bartlesville will remove the structure and reinstall once repairs are made for a cost of $7,600. The repairs will be made by City staff or through a separate contract. Work is expected to begin next month.