- April 25, 2024
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Palm Coast is planning to sue the contractors it considers responsible for damage to the city's splash pad at Holland Park.
The pad’s surface delaminated shortly after the attraction opened, presenting a trip hazard that forced the city to close it.
The Palm Coast City Council on Nov. 15 unanimously approved a resolution directing the city’s outside council, Grey Robinson P.A., to file a lawsuit on the city’s behalf against the design, construction and insurance teams involved in the pad’s construction.
Trevor Arnold, the attorney leading the case for the city, said mediation between the parties had reached an impasse, and it was time to move on to the next step.
Arnold said the city is seeking $1.4 million in costs incurred and to-be incurred, including construction costs, involved labor costs, and lost revenue.
“If we had made much more progress — where I thought that an end was in sight, resolution-wise, where we could hold off doing the lawsuit — then I would be here reporting that,” Arnold said. “But the fact that they were so far under where we needed to be — under 10% — there’s just no choice that we need to move forward.”
The mediation was held over the last month, Arnold said. All but one of the parties participated, but could not reach an agreement. Arnold said his firm has received updated proposals as recently as Friday, Nov. 11, but the proposals still do not meet standards for costs incurred.
“While we want to maintain some resolution efforts and continue to explore those, at this point in time we simply have not made sufficient progress that would warrant not proceeding with the lawsuit,” Arnold said.
The splash pad section “poured-in-place” or “PIP” surface material began cracking and peeling up just months after it’s official opening, causing a trip hazard for residents.
While the other sections of Holland Park remain open, the $5 million splash pad has been closed since October 2021.
“They’re really they’re taking something away from Palm Coast that makes Palm Coast such a phenomenal place to be,” Councilman Nick Klufas said.
Arnold told the council that he hopes to have the lawsuit filed and get a trial date in the next calendar year. If a settlement can’t be reached outside of trial, it could take a full year before the lawsuit is completed, he said.
“We entered this deal in good faith. We did everything by the book in good faith,” Vice Mayor Eddie Branquinho said. “I’m hoping that we’re suing everybody across the board — no mercy on this case, because they had no mercy on us.”
Legal costs are currently at around $50,000 for the city and are expected to increase. The city will be seeking reimbursements for legal fees as well, Arnold said.
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin said he would like to see a timeline and options for reopening the park.
Arnold said the reopening would not have to wait until the trial ends, but it would have to wait until the city has all the information needed for the case. Klufas said he agrees it needs to be reopened, even if as a concrete pad, so residents can get some use out of it.
“We need to figure out a creative solution to be able to open this sucker back up,” Klufas said.
A project to add a retention pond in the L Section of Palm Coast has been approved for a cost-share grant from the St. Johns River Water Management District.
The pond would sit on an 11-acre parcel of land bordered by London and Leaver Drive, near the London Waterway canal, increasing the city’s stormwater storage.
The Palm Coast City Council unanimously approved the grant agreement at a Nov. 15 council meeting.
The Water Management District grant will provide $904,500 of the $3.618 million projected cost.
Construction for the project must begin before June 30, 2023, or the agreement will be subject to termination, according to the contract with the Water Management District.
