Excavations to remove unsuitable clay deposits from the Kanab recreation center site began in mid- November, as contractors dug the foundation pits for the building. When the clay was determined to be unsuitable for backfilling the excavated site, Kanab City and Kane County agreed on a means to put the clay to other use; says Kris Ramsay with Kane County Buildings and Grounds, “This project is a combined effort with Kanab City and Kane County teaming up to take on a portion of the excavation and fill required for the rec center. A large amount of that material was clay that could not be used for back fill … it was hauled to Levi Stewart Memorial and placed there to keep the bank from washing into the creek. Kanab City and Kane County staff have dedicated much time and effort to this endeavor, and I would like to thank everyone involved for their contribution.”
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The construction efforts at the Stewart Memorial were concluded in time for the City and Stewart Foundation to put up their traditional Christmas display. Photos by Ty Gant.
The clay deposits excavated from the rec center site were used to shore up erosion points near the Levi Stewart Memorial. The material reclaimed from the flood retention site was enough to backfill about half of the rec center excavation.
The material reclaimed from the flood retention site was used to backfill a portion of the rec center site. Photo courtesy of Kanab City social media.
With the site now in need of suitably compactible material for the backfill, the city and county “again killed two birds with one stone,” in the words of Sheriff Tracy Glover, who also oversees Buildings and Grounds operations. Said Glover, “The city agreed to help out if they could take some of the material over to the Levi Stewart Memorial; they helped dig the pit, we rented some rock trucks, and they said they’ve got the retention pond with built up material that might be quality enough to do the fill. We partnered up with them to clean out that dirt, and it did test sufficiently to be used for the fill. They got to clean out the drainage, and we got good dirt for the fill.”
Glover continues, “Kanab City’s public works crews have put a lot of time into this collaboration with Kane County on getting this recreation center built - we estimate a savings of around half a million dollars on the work that has been self-performed. There is some work yet to do with the dust coming up near the pond, and there’s a bit of a mountain next to the excavation that needs to be knocked down with the dozer … but overall, the situation is a win-win, it’s saved money and the public works teams have done a great job.”
Kanab City Manager Kyler Ludwig expands on the construction efforts at the Stewart memorial, stating, “The City and the Levi Stewart foundation will continue to watch the Levi Stewart Park property to ensure erosion and settling are under control. We are excited the project was completed in time for the Christmas lights to go up around the park, and we encourage residents and visitors to enjoy the magic of the Levi Stewart Park over the next month.”
According to Sheriff Glover, the efforts of the city and county crews working on the rec center site is currently around $600,000. The reclaimed materials from the city retention pond is enough to fill about half of the excavation site, with the rest to be managed by Maxwell Construction, the company contracted for the rec center.
