You have probably seen that work on Nicholas Cumer Park is still ongoing. A combination of construction, engineering project management, and delivery delays prevented the park from meeting its original completion date of late June / early July.

After several weeks of initial delays, work officially began on July 18th with the preparation of the new sidewalk paths to the pavilion and the new parking lot off of Hemlock Lane. Council member Michael McCormick who has a background in landscape architecture flagged some serious issues with how the sidewalks and playground area were designed and laid out after reviewing progress at the park on July 24th.

Park improvements must comply with current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards and provide an accessible route from a site arrival point to the site components. Accessible routes must be provided from the accessible parking spaces directly to the playground equipment/pavilion and from the Thayer Street sidewalk directly to the playground equipment/pavilion.

Pathways that have an excess of 5% grade require handrails. Parts of the path that were formed at the park are higher than the 5% grade and do not meet the ADA standards without adding handrails. Handrails are an unrealistic additional expense for the Borough at this time and were never part of the project’s cost estimate. Not complying with ADA standards could prevent us from using the current grant funding, and could prevent us from utilizing future grant funding. Based on Mr. McCormick’s discovery, Council immediately placed a stop work order on the project before any concrete was poured.

We consulted with Harshman CE Group, the engineering firm hired for the park renovations. The designers at Harshman admitted their mistake, which was the result of misunderstanding the ADA standards and designing the project with inaccurate survey data. The Borough is currently considering what next steps may be necessary to resolve the matter of additional funding being required because of this mistake.

Councilman McCormick, Public Works, and Borough Solicitor Dennis Makel are in communication with Harshman CE Group on resolving this matter quickly. We expect a revised design from the engineers and have authorized additional funds to keep the project moving.

Sadly, at this time, park completion will be delayed until early September, and we have no choice but to cancel the 2022 Annual Neighborhood Picnic. We look forward to a large celebration next year.