SHAFTER, Calif. (KERO) — According to Alex Gonzalez, deputy public works director for the City of Shafter, the city asked for and received extensions on the deadlines for the three Clean California Grant funded projects.
- According to Gonzalez, the city now has until the end of the year to complete the projects to stay within CalTrans requirements to receive the grant funding, but doesn't expect to need the full length of the extension for any of them.
- Gonzalez noted that the Stringham Park and Skatepark projects are moving along relatively swimmingly, noting minor delays with the two, and expects them to be nearly or completely done by this Summer. At Stringham Park, the city is waiting for a shade structure to be installed at the park. At the Skatepark, the city said there is a long wait for a PG&E power pedestal, which will supply power to the lighting they will be installing at the park.
- Gonzalez said the Shafter Pool Project is seeing the majority of the delays, citing supply chain issues and trying to ensure the two projects that are taking place on-site don't compromise each other. Currently, the pool, pool deck, and filter fall under the Clean California funding, but the city is also working on putting up a new building on the property for the public using city funding.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Three big projects in Shafter will continue to roll, but their grand openings will be pushed back a little bit in some cases. I’m Sam Hoyle, your neighborhood reporter. The City of Shafter asked for, and received, deadline extensions on the pool, skatepark, and Stringham Park project funded by Clean California Grants.
“Originally, the timeline to complete the Clean California projects was June 30th, 2024, so, coming up in a couple of months, but we did request an extension from CalTrans, a six-month extension, to December 31st of this year, just to kind of accommodate some of the supply chain issues we’ve been facing,” said Alex Gonzalez, the city's deputy public works director.
At the skatepark, molds for the features are set up with part of the park already being shaped. Gonzalez said that portion of the project has been relatively straightforward, saying the purpose behind requesting an extension for that project was to give more time to PG&E, so the city can ensure there will be electricity on-site to power the lights they'll be installing
"The biggest delay on that one we are waiting on is the PG&E pedestal that has significant lead time so that we can get power for the future lighting," said Gonzalez.
In a similar vein, Stringham Park is in the same boat. With a new parking lot installed, crews could be seen preparing the spots for a shade structure, and a playground and also working on the irrigation system.
However, the Shafter Pool is a different situation, Gonzalez said supply chain issues have created a hang-up, and part of the extension is due to two projects being going on at once.
"The main delay in this one is trying to ensure the pool project which is the Clean California project, kind of jives with the building project that we have going on concurrently, we just need a little bit more time to make sure that we're not conflicting with each other and we don't do some type of work that conflicts with us later when we're trying to complete the building."
Gonzalez did say that the hope is to have both Stringham park and the skatepark nearly, if not completely, finished by this summer, but the pool project is a beast in and of itself and will hopefully be finished before the next Shafter High School swim season.
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