ODESSA, Texas — A renovation project at Floyd Gwin Park in Odessa began back in 2019 with a $6.2 million price tag. While the project might look fully completed, there are several issues that still need to be addressed.
That process started Tuesday when the Odessa Parks and Recreation Department brought the issues in front of the Odessa City Council. Odessa Parks and Recreation shared many of the incomplete problems with the park, and now city council is looking to hold the contractors accountable.
At Floyd Gwin Park, there is new activity for Odessans to enjoy.
“It was a big renovation for the parks system," said Max Reyes, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Odessa. "They basically knocked down all the baseball fields, they renovated the playgrounds, they did some irrigation for the entire park, lighting – it was a big deal for the citizens.”
But that big deal is not yet up to standard.
“There [are] irrigation problems that have never been resolved since day one," said Javier Joven, Mayor of the City of Odessa. "We’ve lost vegetation, seeding didn’t occur, shortcuts were made left and right, and I oftentimes push back and say, ‘I don’t see a $6.2 million investment at that park and we need to deliver that.’”
Mayor Joven wants to deliver for Odessans what they expected.
“We have irrigation issues, we have issues with some of the metal on the doors, on some of the roofs, we need seeding, once again the irrigation is not holding pressure…we have a large punch list," Mayor Joven said. "We’re going to go item by item, we’re going to take that to the bonding company and say ‘hey, we’re issuing, we want these repairs and this performance bond,' and they’re going to pay for it.”
Max Reyes became Director of Parks and Recreation a few months ago, and he wants the issues corrected.
“In order for us to get the keys handed over we’ve got to make sure everything is right, because what’s going to end up happening is we’re going to end up incurring all the difficulties out there [with] the playing surfaces and stuff," Reyes said.
For district five and Odessans as a whole, the city will be working to make sure Floyd Gwin Park is truly complete.
“There’s still an excess of $400,000 that’s owed to them – that’s not being paid until these deficiencies are fixed," Mayor Joven said. "That performance bond… it’s an option for us to be able to go with to address it because they’re substantial, they’re costly and it has to be done."
Mayor Joven mentioned that the new culture they have brought to the city will help them stay on top of this moving forward and ultimately get it fixed. Reyes noted that the irrigation is close to being where it should be following issues as recent as July, as daily work to finish Floyd Gwin Park continues.