DEPARTMENT: Finance
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Troy Elliott
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 2
SUBJECT:
Japanese Tea Garden Repair of Underground Pump Equipment
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes a contract with Fuquay, Inc. in an amount not-to-exceed $600,000.00 for repairs to the Japanese Tea Garden to include pond underground pump equipment, located in City Council District 2, funded from the Parks and Recreation adopted general fund operating budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Japanese Tea Garden (Tea Garden) is located at 3853 N. St. Mary's and has been a popular visitor destination in San Antonio for over 90 years. As envisioned in the Tea Garden master plan, the Parks and Recreation Department and the San Antonio Parks Foundation have worked together to restore the gardens along with the Jingu House. The garden consists of upper and lower ponds which were rehabilitated in 2007 with a new filtration system and coated with an elastomeric product. At capacity, the lower pond contains approximately 189,000 gallons of water.
In 2013, the Tea Garden began experiencing an increase in water usage. At that point the department undertook various corrective measures to attempt to curtail water usage and identify the reason for the loss of water in the ponds; however water usage continued to increase. In January 2014, the department secured a consultant to perform a series of tests to identify factors and causes leading to the loss of water and determine a corrective action. After numerous tests were performed, an assessment report noted blistering and peeling of the pond coating leading to its failure to retain water. Water loss was also attributed to a malfunction of the drain piping, return line piping, and portions of the pond structure. It was determined that these multiple factors could lead to water loss at the rate of 40 gallons per minute. Currently, the ponds are drained and due to the rate of water loss it is not recommende...
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