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Orange Park: New drainage works won’t delay reopening of Clarke Park

By Wesley LeBlanc wesley@opcfla.com
Posted 8/4/21

ORANGE PARK – The Town Council approved a $28,000 addition to Clarke Park during Tuesday’s meeting to fix drainage issues that have plagued the park for years.

Town Manager Sarah Campbell …

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Orange Park: New drainage works won’t delay reopening of Clarke Park


Posted

ORANGE PARK – The Town Council approved a $28,000 addition to Clarke Park during Tuesday’s meeting to fix drainage issues that have plagued the park for years.

Town Manager Sarah Campbell asked the council to approve the fix and the council approved it with a 5-0 vote. Campbell said despite the addition of new work to the park, it shouldn’t affect the park’s highly-anticipated reopening coming in a few weeks.

“I don’t believe this will affect the opening of the park,” Campbell told the Town Council. “If the fencing and the playground is done...then we can open the park. [This project] can be done on a Wednesday...and completed that day.”

This project is involves resurfacing the park’s parking lot. Campbell said that in order to make some drainage improvements to storm drain inlets at Clarke Park, the best course of action would be to resurface the parking lot and raise the level of pavement up to reach the top of the inlets. She said the Town first tried some other remedies over the past few years but repaving should be the definitive fix. With construction keeping the park closed, now is a great time to make such a fix since the town has surplus funds to afford it.

“My understanding is we’re going to mill down the existing three parking lots and road and then resurface them with new pavement and then have the new pavement striping on them,” Campbell said. “We’re raising the level of the pavement up so that it will properly drain. There’s some curb work we’re doing for accessibility reasons…[alongside] the new sidewalk to the playground…but that’s not a draining issue.”

The Town Council asked Campbell if it would affect the wider Clarke Park opening plans after the council expressed their excitement at the last meeting to get the park open for residents to enjoy before the end of summer.

“It’s my understanding that what we’re actually accomplishing is fixing something built wrong years ago,” council member Alan Watt said. “The catch basins are too high...and the asphalt slopes and drains...and it’s like hitting a dam and it can’t get into the inlet without creating a pond. I think it’s something that needs to be done and now is the right time to do it while getting the rest of the park completed.”